X-Over Chronicles Vol 1
by TheFairReviewer
Summary: Witness Teriko settle into life in another dimension. New friends are met and adventures unfold in the start of his destiny. A tribute to Final Fantasy and an RP I did with some Miiverse users. Rated T because of action, probably dark moments, maybe instances of language.
1. Introduction

Hello Readers!  
This is my first story, so I don't know how I'll do.  
I came up with this last summer, when I did a Legend of Zelda RP with two miiverse users called Kaimalie and Molly(I hope you're reading this), and it was just one of those little adventure stories. Then after many months, I had the idea to make a tribute for our RP, which is why I came here.  
This story is based on that RP, and I will be putting our OCs in this alternate dimension.  
Why did I put this story here? Because it's also a tribute to Final Fantasy for the enjoyment it has given me.  
I really don't know how often I'll update, so sorry if it takes awhile. Please let me know how I can improve.  
First up is the segments called Trailers. These will give an introduction to the main characters of the story.  
Without further ado, let's get to the first trailer, and I hope it's satisfactory.  
If there are any questions, feel free to ask them. 


	2. Trailer 1-Teriko

What's going on?

This is what Teriko thought as he saw flashes of different things happening in his mind. He was having a peaceful sleep, until theses visions popped up in his head.

He saw himself and the shadows of 6 others walking up to a dark castle, then him and 5 others facing a dark figure rising up from the earth, and finally a meteor coming down from the sky.

Then he was standing on unfamiliar ground, looking straight ahead as the meteor crashed into the earth and destroyed the whole land.

He woke up with sweat on his forehead, breathing hard. He got up and looked around his room, making sure everything was in place, then finally pinched his cheeks to make sure he was actually awake.

"What an awful nightmare." He said with a shake of his head. "How could I even dream that?"

He looked at himself through the mirror. At fourteen, he stood at an average height but was not really muscular. His hair was brown, short, and combed nicely, but a patch of hair always stuck out from the back no matter how many times he tried to flatten it. He currently wore his sleeping clothes: a white shirt and a pair of shorts.

He sighed tiredly. "I really need to get to sleep." He said. Then he heard a tap from his window.

He ran toward it, lifted it up, then looked down and saw a girl his age with pink hair that reached her shoulders. She was pretty, but Teriko didn't care about that.

"Who are you, and why are you throwing rocks at my window?" He asked. "Come down here, it's important." She said urgently. "My name is Wendy, and I need your help." Teriko was curious about her problem, and decided to come down. "Just wait." He said.

He was carefully walking outside a little later dressed in a white jacket with orange stripes running down the zipper and the sleeves. He also swapped the shorts for a pair of beige pants. "What is it?" He asked. "Follow me." Wendy said beckoning him over. Then she took off.

Teriko ran after her, trying to stay as quiet as he could as he went through the empty streets. Wendy stopped at the edge of town, where no one would hear them. Teriko came to halt in front of her and breathed hard. "Why did you bring me here?" He asked when he recovered. "So no one would see this." Wendy replied. Then she turned around and put her hands together, as if in a prayer. Teriko stepped back as a blue light appeared between Wendy's palms and she thrust them forward.

A white light appeared in front of her, and Teriko was amazed at the sight. "W-What is this?" He asked nervously. "This is a portal to my home dimension, Ygdrasil." Wendy said. She turned to him and stared into him with green eyes. "It is about to be in danger, and you are one of the heroes who will save it."

It took a few seconds for Teriko to respond. "A hero?" He said in amazement. "Why is this happening?" Wendy smiled in amusement. "It's because of fate." She said mysteriously. "So, will you accept it?" She held out her hand and a sword appeared in a flash. It was a silver blade with a cobalt and silver handle. Teriko hesitated, then took the weapon and slowly walked into the portal.

Wendy went in after him and the white light disappeared.


	3. Trailer 2-Mai

In the dark night, a shadow stalked through the forest. It was sneaking around, as if it was hiding from something. It continued to do this until it reached a clearing in the middle of the woods, where a tent awaited it. When the figure walked into the moonlight, it turned out to be a girl about 14 years old.

If one weren't looking high enough, they would assume she was an ordinary girl. She had long maroon hair, had a skinny look to her, wore a gray tunic, leather boots, and was wrapped in a brown cloak. If they looked at the top of her head, they would notice two cat ears, a unique feature to the Cait Sith.

Then they would notice the big sword strapped to her back. A huge, leaf-shaped steel blade with an iron handle and a gold cross guard with a cat-like shape. Another thing Cait Sith had: high strength, although they weren't as strong as the dwarves.

The girl's name was Mai. She went inside the tent and sat on the blanket that laid the floor. She sighed tiredly. "It's been two days since I ran away, and I don't know what else to do." She said sadly. She thought about all of ridicule she went through over the years.

The adults would scold her whenever there was an accident when she was around, kids would throw sticks at her and call her a witch, and her family didn't even care for her much. Mai clenched her fists. "That all happened because of-" Then there was a crash outside, and she quickly crawled outside to investigate.

She got up and stood paralyzed in fear as she saw the creature crashing through the woods, straight towards her. A giant black boar with tusks as sharp as needles. It's demon eyes was locked on to her as it got closer to impact.

"A-A Demonic Boar? But those should be extinct!" Mai said in fright. "OK, what did the teachers about these?" Mai said thoughtfully. Her face brightened when figured it out."The point between the tail and the back, that's its weakness!" She drew her sword, then took a stance.

The beast was approaching fast, it would crush her in a few seconds. "Five…four…three…two…one…" Mai counted. Just when it was about to run her over, she jumped high into the air and on to the back of the boar.

The monster didn't realize what happened, and stopped in its tracks and looked around for Mai while she slowly walked over to the tail. The boar eventually felt the footsteps and squealed while trying to shake her off, but it was too late. Mai lifted her sword up, then plunged it into the start of the tail. The monster suddenly stopped moving, then starting falling over.

Mai jumped off of it and did a roll to minimize the damage from the landing. She got up, turned around to look at the beast while it faded into dark smoke, then sheathed her sword with a sigh of relief. "That's over with, but why was that here? They're supposed to be extinct." Her right hand was suddenly surround by darkness, and she gasped in pain. "Ahhh! No, I have to fight it! I can't let it control me!" She clenched her fist and the darkness dispersed.

She breathed hard. "That's the third time it has happened, why is the darkness trying to control me? Is this the reason the Demonic Boar appeared after hundreds of years of extinction?" She looked at her hand fearfully. "Is the darkness getting stronger? If so, how can I hold it back?"


	4. Trailer 3-Cress

Getting attacked by monsters in the forest was a normal thing, but getting attacked by a giant skeleton wasn't.

Up until then, Cress was just having a regular day. She would hunt animals, take their pelts for profit, and cook the meat for herself. She was sitting by the campfire, waiting for her meat to be cooked just right. She was a hunter, and no one could doubt it.

She did look fit enough to be one. At sixteen, she was a little taller than most girls her age, a lean figure, short black hair, and a sort of tone that came from years of hunting in the forest. She wore a brown tunic, black leather boots, and a pair of fingerless glove. However, the most noticeable feature was the long scar that ran along her arm.

For years, Cress had kept a deep seated hatred for the one who did this her. She would push the hazy memory away, but it would always come back. And so she thought about that fateful night, where she was nearly killed.

She remembered the pain she felt from getting cut by the sword, and vaguely remembered that she was trying to protect a boy. "Who is he, and why does he feel familiar?" Cress thought out loud. "It feels like I should know him. Whoa!"

The ground had started to shake, causing the fire to short out and Cress to fall over. Cress got up and held her ground as a crack appeared in the earth and a giant skeleton climbed out. The thing was twenty four feet tall, and it was looking straight down at her.

Cress grinned at the sight. "This should be fun!" She said excitedly. She spread her arms out and a pair of crossbows flashed into existence. They were designed beautifully: Carved and painted to resemble flames. Cress twirled her weapons and pointed them at the skeleton. "You want to play bonehead?" She said cockily.

The thing apparently didn't like being called that, because it roared at Cress and she covered ears. "I'll take that as a yes." She concluded. The skeleton took a swipe with its right arm and Cress back flipped out of the way. "You're going to have to do better than that!" She yelled. Then it dived for her, but she jumped up and it crashed into a few trees.

Cress landed on the ground and the skeleton got and turned to her. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Cress taunted. The creature pulled back a fist and tried to punch her into the ground. She rolled out of the way, and dirt erupted from the ground when the blow hit it. The dust cleared, and the skeleton's arm was stuck in the ground.

Cress chuckled. "You're done for." She said confidently. She jumped onto to the the arm and ran up towards the head. The creature tried to retaliate by punching her, but she jumped up. The punch connected with the arm instead, and it was broken. Cress took aim at the head, and fired. Instead of bolts, the shots fired bolts of purple energy. They hit the skull, but it didn't appear to do anything.

Cress scowled. "So much for that." She said angrily. Then she started smiling. "That means I can take it up a notch!" She yelled happily. She twirled her weapons and they transformed into a pair of small cannons. As she feel towards the skeleton, it prepared to punch her out of the sky and she aimed carefully. When she was near enough the skeleton launched its fist. Just when it was about to connect, she fired.

Orbs of energy blew up the fist and the resulting explosion launched Cress back into the air. She laughed heartily as she flipped and went back down. She stared at the skeleton, who had no way of fighting and was looking up at her, as if it was ready to be destroyed. Cress took aim. "Rest in peace." She said, then fired. The skeleton's head was destroyed, and the body fell back and faded into dark smoke.

Cress landed, dismissed her weapons,looked at the place where the creature once stood, then at the remains of her campfire. She sighed tiredly. "Looks like I'm going home hungry tonight." She said sadly.


	5. Trailer 4-Winton

Author's note: That's right, two chapters in one day! It's my Christmas gift, and I hope it satisfies! Merry Christmas!

Winton woke up when the sounds of angry voices reached him. He got up and dressed into a leather vest over a white shirt, a pair of brown pants, and brown leather shoes. He looked at himself in the mirror, and saw the girlish looking, fifteen year old nymph before him. His hair was blue and reached just above the shoulders, and the bangs were swept to the left side. People always mistook him for a girl until he spoke, then they would apologize and walk away awkwardly. He glanced at the window and saw that it was still night time.

He looked down and thought about his father. Three days ago, he went missing and Winton left to start a new life. He made it to the inn the day after, and started working there. "I still wonder what happened to him." Winton said sadly. "He was never right in the head, not since the day I woke up and found him shaking on the floor and muttering 'I'm sorry'. He sighed. "After all those years, I thought he was getting better, but then he was gone." The commotion outside continued, and he decided to see what was going on.

He passed by the counter where Miss Hill was sitting. "Good morning Winton." She said kindly. "You too." He replied. "Did this get you up as well?" He asked. "Yes, it did." She confirmed sadly. "Are you sure you want to go out there?" She asked worriedly. "I'll be fine, don't worry." Winton assured her. When he stepped outside, he found two muscular men, one of them sporting a beard, preparing to fight each other, and the rest of the town watching at them frightfully.

"Hold it!" Winton shouted. Everyone looked at him and the two men lowered their fists. Winton walked over to them. "What makes you think you can interrupt a fight between men, kid? The bearded man asked angrily. "I'm just wondering why you're fighting." Winton replied calmly. "This guy cheated me out of my gold in a card game!" The shaven one replied. "And we agreed to sort it out tonight, but he won't give it back!" The bearded man chuckled amusingly. "It was still my win and I am still keeping the gold, even if I fight you for it." He said.

"Fighting can't solve everything." Winton said. "Why can't you just give it back, and be done with it?" The shaven man glared at him. "Because there would be no honor in that." He replied angrily. "Then play why don't you play cards again?" Winton asked. "There's no use in scaring the town." The bearded man scowled. "You know what? I'm done with his talking." He said irritably. Then he grinned. "I know how we can settle this. Whoever can knock out this pretty boy can keep the gold, deal?" The shaven man thought about it, then smiled. "That sounds good to me." Winton looked at them franticly. "Can't we just talk this out?" He asked hastily. They looked at him and cracked their knuckles. "Oh gods and goddesses." He sighed. "I was afraid this would happen."

He pumped his arms and a pair of gauntlets appeared in a flash over his hands. The metal that made the gauntlets was designed beautifully with a black and gold color combination. The gauntlets covered up to a little below his elbows. The attackers backed off a little when they saw is action. "I'm giving you one more chance, please stop." Winton said. The men scowled. "Don't tell us what to do!" The bearded man shouted, and they charged.

The bearded one tried to gut him while the shaved one tried a right hook. Winton blocked both and pushed them back. They staggered and looked stunned at the kid's strength. "Just what are you?" The shaved man asked fearfully. "Somebody that will regret it if he hurts you." Winton replied. "You freak!" The bearded man yelled. He tried a charging punch, but Winton tilted to the side and tripped him. The shaved man recovered from his shock and tried to grab him, but Winton ducked, then twisted around and pushed him into the bearded one. They both got up and glared at him. "Are you going to stop?" Winton asked. "As if!" Replied the shaven man.

They ran at him and launched punch after punch, but he avoided and blocked every hit. The men were getting tired, and it looked like they might actually give up, but then Winton lost his footing and ended up kneeling on the ground. The bearded man saw the opportunity and kicked him on to his back. Winton crawled back until he hit a house. He looked up at the man in fear. "Say your prayers, pretty boy." The man said, and he punched downward.

Winton's panic kicked in. He closed his eyes and grabbed the man's arm. Then he pulled the man down and punched him in the stomach. He went flying into the shaved man, and took him with him. They slid along the ground until they hit another house, and they crashed through it. Winton opened his eyes saw what he had done.

The men were unconscious, and the town was looking at him in horror. Winton looked at his hands in fear. "I didn't want that to happen." He said quietly, and started shaking. "This is why I don't fight. Not only does it hurt people, but I'm too strong for my own good."


	6. Important update 1-Special announcement

To my readers out there

I hope you enjoyed the trailers I have so far, I did my best.

Today, I'm talking about my other works I want to do.

I called myself The Fair Reviewer because I offer an unbiased opinion on shows and games. I will be reviewing anime and manga that I have watched/read and games I have played.

If you have an anime or game that you want me to review, I will be putting up a poll.

Thank you for reading, and I will be working on the last trailer.

MerryChristmas!


	7. Final Trailer-Lee and Ken

Author's Note: This took me a while to work on, and I hope it's decent. The final trailer is here, and I don't know when the story will officially start. I also set up a poll for the anime or game I should review, in case you didn't know. Now let's get this story started!

In a grand town beneath an even grander castle, people were laughing and cheering into the night. There was a festival going on, and the everyone was enjoying themselves. Well, everyone except for two boys who were at a bench beside a beautiful fountain.

Both were thirteen, but it was hard to tell with the other one because he was wearing grey dragon-like armor, with the helmet making it hard to see the upper part of his face. A blood red spear was sheathed between a pair of black dragon-like wings. The other boy was dressed in a white robe with an angel being depicted in the front. He had somewhat untidy blonde hair that curled up at the bangs, and blues eyes. He had a simple golden staff that was also sheathed between a pair wings, but his were white and feathery.

The blonde boy was trying to convince the armored one to get up. "Come on Ken, don't you want to see the festivities?" Said the blonde boy, who was named Lee. "I can see them just fine." Ken answered in a monotone. Lee sighed. "You know what I mean." He said, then walked back and forth with his hands behind his back. "Don't be so reserved, it's not good for you." He said worriedly. Ken remained quiet, and Lee's head fell. There was silence between them, with the only noise being the happy people around them, and some onlookers who were curious about the boys' outfits. Then the happy noises were silenced by a crash from the south side

Ken quickly got up, drew his spear, then ran towards the direction of the crash. Lee was astounded by the sudden movement and it took him a second to recover. "Wait for me!" He yelled, then followed Ken as people were starting to scream from the south.

When they got there, they found dog-like creatures swinging axes, along with black and gold suits of armor approaching with steel swords. People were rushing past them, screaming in terror. Lee cowered behind Ken. "Th-those are A-anubys and Dark Knights, but those are s-supposed to be sealed away." Lee stammered. "Looks like they've also been brought back, and decided to crash the party." Ken said calmly. The monsters noticed them, and started approaching. "Uh…what are we going to do?" Lee asked worriedly. Ken pointed his spear at the them. "We're going to fight." He simply stated.

Lee jumped back in surprise. "Wait, we can't fight like this!" He said hastily. "We could hurt people, and destroy a lot of property!" "Then what do you suggest we do?" Ken asked. Lee quickly thought of an answer. "We can lead them to the plaza." He said. "There's a lot of room there, and we don't have to worry about people being hurt." Ken noticed he didn't sound sure about the well being of the people, but he nodded anyway. He thrust his palm out and a bolt of lightning hit the Anubis in the lead. It shook a little from the shock, then it recovered and all the monsters looked at them, with the Anubys glaring with red eyes. "Come and get us, we're waiting." Ken said calmly.

The Anubys roared and all the monsters charged. Ken and Lee ran to the direction they came from and making sure the monsters followed them, all while Lee shouted for people to go anywhere else but the plaza. They stopped at the fountain, and turned around to meet the knights and their dogs. Ken counted and got to three Anubys and Dark Knights. "We got to separate the groups and take them out." Ken whispered. "I got the Knights, you can take the Anubys." Lee nodded, and breathed slowly. "Hey, Knights." Ken said. They turned to him, and Ken pointed his spear. "You want to fight a real warrior? Then come get me." Ken said calmly, and he jumped to distance himself from the fountain. He looked at them and his wings spread out, intimidating the Anubys. The Knights just looked at him with their swords drawn. "I'm waiting." Ken said.

All three of the Dark Knights charged at him, feet clanking on the concrete. The leader was the first to reach him. It swung his sword in a wide arc, but Ken jumped up and hovered high in the air. Even the Knights were looking up in surprise as Ken retracted his wings and dived down. He positioned his spear and crashed into the leader's chest,driving it through the armor. Ken jumped back, then watched the Knight keel over, fall apart, then finally fade into dark smoke. The over two were staring him. "Are you mad?" Ken asked. Both Knights took positions in front and behind him. The one in front stabbed him while the other swung downward. Ken sidestepped, took the sword that tried to stab him, then spun around and sliced the front Knight in half. It dropped to ground, then faded away along with the sword.

The last Dark Knight stumbled back, and Ken looked at it. "I'll finish you quickly." He said, then his spear was surrounded by lightning. He stepped up to the Knight and stabbed it in the chest. Sparks flew as its body shook, then exploded in a mixture of electricity and dark smoke. Ken heard fighting behind him, and turned around to find a scared Lee dodging attacks from two Anubys. The monsters, weren't seriously injured, but they did have some pretty good bruises from the staff and one was knocked out cold. Ken ran into the fight and sliced one in the back while Lee launched a ball of fire at the other one in panic. It was set ablaze, and it dropped its axe and ran around until it fell on the last one. Ken finished them off with a bolt of lightning.

Lee walked up and stood beside him as they watched the spot where the monsters were. "…That was actually pretty funny." Ken said. Lee looked and sighed with relief as he saw a slight smile on Ken's face, and could've sworn there was a hint of amusement beneath that monotone. There was a bit of silence, then Lee decided to speak up. "What do we do now?" He asked casually. Ken walked to the west side, and Lee looked after him curiously. Ken glanced back and beckoned him over. "I'm going to get some treats." He said in his monotone. "Are you coming?" Lee smiled happily and nodded. He ran after him as the sounds of the festival resumed and the people cheered for them.


	8. Prologue-Lore of Ygdrasil

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long, I was at a place without internet, but I did get into FF Type-0. If there is anything you don't understand about the current chapter, let me know and I will do my best to explain. By the time I uploaded this to my documents, it was 4:00 in the morning. I started this at 11:00 at night...oh god. I don't mind though, because I can let my story be told. Hope you enjoy this one.

Five hundred years ago, there was a man who researched the supernatural aspects about the world. He spent a decade looking into strange things until he finally found a dark substance. This substance engulfed objects in darkness and made them disappear forever, and it was named Chaos. The man was fascinated by this, and continued to delve further into his studies, despite the warnings from his colleagues. He eventually came to the conclusion that Chaos makes up the world, released from a dying being, and it was possible that people could control it. He had the people of the city gather to witness a glorious spectacle: absorbing the power of Chaos. He did, and painfully screamed right after. He his skin darkened, and he was able to bend the substance to his will. After days of thinking, he decided to immerse himself deeper into the Chaos, as its power drew him in.

And so he summoned monsters to ravage the land, starting with the castle of Ygdrasil

The king quickly took action, sending his troops to fight in the plains of Elis. The men fought bravely against the onslaught, but were slowly being pushed back by the numbers. Everything was about to turn out for the worst, but then the other races joined the battle. The Cait Sith, wanderers of the land. Elves, people of the forest. Dwarves, the dwellers of mountains. Angels and Dragoons, revered beings of the sky. Nymphs, people of water.

The Cait Sith, with their strength and agility, weaved through the ranks and took out their foes. Elves, with their speed and eyes, quickly sliced through and shot down creatures. Dwarves, with even more power than the Cait Sith, fought off giants capable of crushing most of the races. Angels and Nymphs, with their mystical abilities, provided support with healing and protective spells. Finally the Dragoons, with strength equal to Dwarves and magic equal to Angels, flew around and destroyed everything that threatened their allies.

It looked liked the battle would be won, but the former researcher wouldn't have it. Using the power of Chaos, he transformed into a monstrosity that was a horror to every living thing, Titan. He knocked around anything that opposed him, and those that didn't ran in fear. Even the mighty Dwarves and Dragoons couldn't stop him, which brought even more panic. Just when all seemed lost, bright lights shined from six different people around the battlefield.

These individuals were chosen by the six gods, who bestowed a bit of their power to them. Byrnhildr, goddess of fire, strength, and judgement, represented by the Dwarf Cid. Leviathan, god of water and tranquility, represented by the Nymph Celine. Hecatoncheir, god of nature, kindness, and kinship, represented by the Elf Leaf. Odin, god of fate and spirit, represented by a woman called Rin, who sneaked into ranks of the king's soldiers to prove her worth. Bahamut, god of night and acceptance, represented by a man called Riord, a thief forced to fight to repent for his crimes. Alexander, god of light and trust, represented by the commander of the king's army, Kris.

These six led by Kris, combined their powers to fight Titan in a final clash of strength. After a hard battle, he was kneeling down before them. They couldn't kill him, but they did find a solution, and that was to seal him away along with the Chaos. The land could rest in peace after that.

After a few days to recover and mourn for the fallen, the whole land rejoiced in the plains of Elis. A festival started there that night, and every race came together to celebrate. The heroes were not forgotten either. As they wandered around the festival together, many clapped and cheered for them and they even sat with the king and the other leaders of the races. The king announced that the day would be marked in history forever, and be celebrated every year. Afterward, there were still crimes, but things were relatively peaceful.

What happened to the heroes? Everyone of the heroes became immortal to an extent after being filled with power. Leaf, Celine, and Cid became leaders of their races years later, while Rin and Riord fell in love and ran off to unknown places. Kris however, gave up this immortality and chose to live as a mortal.

The most shocking thing to happen after that, was three hundred years later. In a hastily arranged meeting between the leaders, Lady Celine sadly stated that Leviathan grew tired of his immortal life and decided to fade away. The memorial that followed is the saddest one to this day, for even criminals sobbed for the god.


	9. An Unusual Trio

Author's note: Hello readers! Thank you for reading the story, and I'm sorry for not posting sooner. Reminder, I have a poll up, so you can vote for something for me to review. Or if you want me to take it down and choose myself, let me know. I'd like to hear your thoughts, so leave a review! The story starts here!

"I wish that skeleton didn't ruin my dinner." Cress muttered. She was backtracking her way home, and trying to ignore her grumbling stomach. "But still," She grinned. "That was a fun fight, but I wonder why that thing crawled up." She put a hand on her chin. "Monsters have started appearing recently, and no one knows why." She sighed. "Well, I can't let it get to me. A hunter needs her composure." Finally, she found her home. It was made of wood, built into the trees, with three separate rooms. "Home, sweet home." Cress said happily. She was starting to approach when a body fell right in front of her.

It was a boy, and he groaned in pain. He sat up a little, and looked at her with dazed eyes. He shook his head, and he focused on her. Things were quiet for a bit, then they screamed. Cress hopped back and summoned her crossbows while the boy got on his feet and took off. Cress took aim, fired, and the boy was hit in the back. He fell on the ground and started shaking, while she approached him with a crossbow pointed at his head.

The boy rolled around, but was met with the weapon pointed at his face. He looked up to the young woman who was glaring at him. "You're lucky I didn't intend to kill you, you know that?" She said with an angry tone. The boy nodded quickly. "Y-yes." He stammered. Cress sighed and dismissed her crossbows. "At least I have company for the night." The boy looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I'm inviting you to my house." She answered. "Consider it an apology for almost killing you."

They sat on opposite ends of the low table in the living room, with the boy looking around. It was decorated with things like animal horns, hunting bow, knives, pelts, and a tiger statue in the corner. Yet, the place had a cozy feel to it. "This is a nice place, I already feel comfortable." The boy said genuinely. "Thanks, I try to make it good for guests, if they ever come by." Cress said. "But, what's with the decorations?" He asked while leaning away from the statue. "Isn't it obvious? I'm a hunter." She answered proudly. She held out her hand. "The name's Cress, pleased to make your acquaintance." The boy hesitated, then shook it. "Same here, I'm Teriko." He said.

"So tell me," Cress leaned forward. "Where did you come from? I've never seen anyone like you before on my trips to the market." Teriko flinched, and looked away. "Uh…" He struggled to find the words. "Well, you see…you may not believe it, but…" He was saved from explaining when a voice reached them from outside. "Hey! Anyone there?" A girl's voice shouted. They got up and opened the door to find a girl with cat ears waving at them.

Cress jogged forward to meet her, but the cat girl pointed to Teriko, who was gaping at her. "Come over here, idiot!" Cress shouted. He shook his head and followed her. When he got there, he looked curiously at the girl's cat ears, which caused her to back away shyly. "Don't stare at them." She said with a blush. Teriko backed off while Cress chuckled. "You're a Cait Sith, right?" She asked. The girl nodded. "What are you doing here?" The girl pointed at Teriko, who pointed at himself curiously. "I saw him falling from the sky, and I was wondering why." She said. Cress looked at Teriko too. "Well, if we're going to have a conversation, might as well be comfortable." She said, then smiled and gestured to her house. "Come inside, the more the merrier."

Once they were seated, Cress pressed the Cait Sith further. "I don't mean to pry, but shouldn't you be wandering with your tribe? Don't you always travel in packs?" The girl looked down sadly. "I…ran away." She said hesitantly. Cress's interest peaked. "Ran away, wow." She said in amazement. "How bad are they?" The girl shuffled a little. "They're actually quite nice, but they're only mean to me." Cress tilted her head. "And why you in particular?" She pursued. The girl started shaking."I..I…uuuh…" She couldn't find the words, her eyes were getting watery. "That's enough." Teriko cut in. Cress and the girl looked at him in surprise. "I was only just-" She started to say, but he put a hand up in a stopping gesture and she quieted down. Teriko looked at the girl, who was staring at him gratefully.

"Don't worry, we're friends." He said gently, then held out a hand. "I'm Teriko, and this is Cress." She raised a hand in greeting. "Who are you?" He asked. The girl smiled and took his hand. "My name is Mai, and I'm pleased to meet you." She answered happily.

They were staring into each other's eyes for a bit, but when Cress tapped on the table they let go and looked away embarrassingly. "Anyway," Cress said with a teasing grin. "This night has been eventful, and I'm sure you're both tired, so let's all get to sleep, shall we?" They both nodded in agreement. "Teriko, that ladder to the right side leads to the guest room. You're going to sleep there while me and Mai go to my room." Cress informed while she guided Mai to the left ladder. Teriko nodded and walked to the right ladder, but then stopped before climbing to think of something. "Wait." He said. Cress and Mai turned to him. "Mai's a guest, isn't she? So shouldn't she be in the guest room with me?" Cress put a hand on her forehead and sighed while Mai blushed and looked away. "Boy, don't you understand the implications?" Cress asked. Teriko thought about it, then realized what she meant and turned red. "Thought so." Cress said with finality, and took Mai to her room while Teriko climbed up the ladder with the blush still on his face.


	10. The Two Brothers

Teriko mumbled as a voice tried to wake him up in the morning. "Hey! Get up kid!" Cress said irritably. He simply turned over and breathed. She sighed. "You forced me to do this." She went to her room and looked in her drawers. Mai woke up from the noise and watched her curiously. "What are you looking for?" She asked. "Something to get that boy up." Cress answered. "Here it is." She pulled out a circular canteen filled with water. Mai tilted her head. "How is that going to get him up?" She asked. "Just watch." Cress said with a grin.

They both climbed up to the guest room and saw that Teriko was still asleep on the bed. He turned to their direction and breathed. Cress approached him while Mai watched curiously. Cress sighed. "I'm sorry about this, but you need to get up." She said in annoyance, then she opened the canteen and poured the water on Teriko. He sat up with a yell and shook his head while the girls laughed at the the sight. He looked at Cress angrily. "What was that for?" He asked. "It's time to get up." She answered. "I'm going to the castle town to meet a friend, and the both of you are coming with me." Teriko's expression changed. "Castle town?" He asked excitedly.

After following a path, they stood outside the forest and gazed at the castle in the distance. "Wow…" Teriko said in amazement. "It's beautiful." Mai stated. "Yeah." Cress agreed. "I visit a friend who goes there once every week. I also get the chance to sell some things I found during my hunts." She pointed at the pack on her back. "Come on, we got quite a walk." Ten minutes later, they reached the gates and Cress went to talk to the guards. Teriko sat on the ground and gazed up at the castle, and Mai sat beside him.

"This is my first time being near a castle." Teriko said. "Mine too." Mai said. "Yesterday was actually my first time meeting humans." She looked down sadly. "We were told that your kind ridiculed us, and didn't want us around." Teriko looked at her in surprise. "What?" He said. Their conversation was interrupted when Cress ran up to them. "OK, we're allowed to go in." Cress said happily. Teriko and Mai quickly got up and dashed to the entrance.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Teriko said. They were wandering through the streets and looking around. There were shops selling sweets and toys, games, and excited people walking through the streets. "What's with the festivities?" He asked curiously. "A celebration of course." Cress answered. "It started last night." Then Mai spoke up. "I read about this." She said. "On this day, the kingdom celebrates its victory against an abomination called Titan."

That peaked Teriko's interest. "Titan?" He asked. Mai was about to answer, but then Teriko tripped and she cried out in alarm. He fell forward and his hand knocked a stick of rock candy out of someone's grip. He groaned in pain. His vision cleared, and he saw the rock candy. He rolled over and saw Cress scowling, Mai covering her mouth, and both of them were looking at someone to his right. He turned his head and stiffened up. A boy in grey, dragon-like armor was sitting on a bench beside a fountain and staring at him, and what made him more intimidating were the black wings on his back. (I think I made a big mistake…) Teriko thought.

The boy stared at him for a few more seconds, then sat up and walked away. Teriko got to his feet and watched him until a staring crowd blocked him from view. He sighed in relief. "I think I cut it close right there." He said. "Don't worry, he's nice, even if he doesn't come across that way." He turned to see a boy with blonde hair, a white robe depicting an angel, and feathery wings standing on top of the fountain. He jumped down and landed in front of Teriko, who fell back in surprise. Cress and Mai ran over and stood by his side. "I'm Lee, nice to meet you." The boy said. He offered his hand to Teriko, who took it and got helped up.

"Thanks." Teriko said. "I'm Teriko." "Hey there, I'm Cress." She said. "And I'm Mai." She said. "Sorry for that mishap." "It's alright." Lee said kindly. "That's my brother Ken, and we've been through a lot." "I can imagine." Teriko said in disbelief. "I thought he was going to let me have it." Lee chuckled nervously. "He can be intimidating at first, but he's not a bad guy." "Wait, you said that guy was your brother?" Mai asked. "He's a Dragoon, and you're an angel." Lee looked at his wings. "Well, our mother was an Angel, and our father was a Dragoon." He explained. "It's just that when two races mix, one will show more than the other." "I never even heard of two races having children together." Mai said with wonder. She seemed lost at the thought.

Lee looked at the direction Ken went. "I've got to catch up." He said, and started running off. "See you again someday!" He waved them goodbye, and so did the trio. "That was something." Cress said. "You said it, I thought I was a goner." Teriko said with relief, but then thought about the conversation. "But what was that about races?" "Let's look around more." Mai suggested hurriedly. "Didn't you want to find your friend, Cress?" Cress nodded. "Come on!" She started walking to the south side. "We've got somebody to meet!" "Right!" Teriko and Mai said. They followed her through the streets of the south.


	11. Anya

Author's Note: I've taken down the poll and decided to do reviews by request instead, so PM me if you want me to review something. Now in this chapter, we introduce the title character.

"Wow, what happened here?" Teriko asked. They had noticed someone working on the gates, which were bent and busted off the hinges. "A pack of monsters attacked the town." Said the guard in front of them. "They could've caused serious damage if it weren't for the Angel and Dragoon going to the festival." Teriko, Mai, and Cress decided to walk away. "Lee and Ken stopped a monster attack?" Teriko asked. "Lucky they were here, or this place would have been wrecked." Cress said. Mai sighed sadly. "Monsters have been appearing recently, and we don't know why." She said. "We can't let that get us down, there will be a way to solve this problem." Teriko said hopefully.

They turned a corner, and found a row of shops beside the the streets, and people checking out the goods while shopkeepers beckoned them. Cress grinned. "This is the place." Mai looked down the rows. "There's so many, are you sure you'll find your friend?" She asked. "Come on, she only goes to one place, and I'm right beside her." She took a right turn, and Teriko and Mai followed her. As they walked past the shops, several people noticed Mai and gave her cold looks,which caused her to cling close to Teriko. "A Cait Sith, here?" Teriko heard one man say. "Why wasn't she shooed out?" A woman said. "Her kind shouldn't be here." Another said. After that, Mai put her hood on to cover her ears. There were a couple of people who felt sad for her, so Teriko knew some people didn't hate Mai's race.

Cress stopped at in front of a shop that had a sign with a smiling cow on it. The sign said: [Aura Farm's Quality Goods]. "This is it!" Cress said happily. Teriko and Mai read the sign. "Aura Farm…your friend works there?" Teriko asked curiously. Then they noticed a girl's voice yelling over the crowd, which thinned out to reveal her. She was sixteen, with long red hair tied in a ponytail, a pretty face, and was wearing overalls over a yellow shirt. "Okay, I'm closing down!" She said while waving her arms. "Thank you for your business!" Her smiling face frowned a little when she focused on Cress. "Cress, you're late!" She yelled. Cress gave her usual grin and raised a hand in return. "Hey there Anya." She said. They walked over to the shop, and Cress offered a hand. "So is the business still good?" She asked. Anya just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, then she noticed Teriko and Mai. She looked surprised. "Oh, some new friends I presume?" She asked curiously. "Yeah." Cress confirmed. "And we had quite the meeting." Anya became excited. "Oh, you have got to tell me!" She said. "Come on, let's go inside!"

When they entered, Anya pulled down a board that blocked the view of the outside, then she pulled a string above her head and some lights came on. "Just take a seat, I'll make some tea." She said. They sat around the table and waited patiently, while she boiled bags of tea in a kettle. Once it was done, she went to the cabinet, gathered cups for everyone, and poured them the steaming drink. Then she took a seat opposite from Cress. "OK, when did you guys meet, and how?" She asked. "We just met last night." Teriko answered. "And Cress and I didn't meet under the best circumstances." Cress chuckled. "He fell out of a tree, scared me, and I shot him." She explained. Anya laughed. "That's like you, 'Consequences be damned', right?" She said knowingly. Cress shook her head. "Hey, people don't normally fall out of trees. I was just frightened." She said in defense. Then Anya looked over at Mai, who pulled her hood lower. "What about her?" Anya asked curiously. "Oh come on, you can take the hood off." Cress urged Mai. She hesitated, then took her hood off, revealing her cat ears. Anya gasped excitetedly. "A Cait Sith!" She exclaimed. She walked around Mai and looked at her ears, which caused her to blush, but she didn't complain. "I've always wanted to meet one of you." Anya said in wonder. "How come she complains when I look at her ears, but Anya gets off scot free?" Teriko asked. "Because you're a guy." Cress answered with a grin. "Oh." A few seconds of silence, and he registered what she said. "Hey!" He said in annoyance. The girls laughed at his expense, and Teriko smiled as well.

"How did you meet her?" Anya asked. "She found my house." Cress answered. "On the pretense that she was following this guy, because he was falling out of the sky." She pointed at Teriko. Anya looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Falling out of the sky?" She asked suspiciously. Teriko laughed nervously. "I'm not sure of it myself, but it explains why I fell out of a tree." He said. Then Anya turned to Mai. "I really can't believe it, a Cait Sith is really here." She said. "You always avoided humans until now." She took another glance at the ears and hummed in thought, which caused Mai to tilt back. "What are you thinking?" She asked nervously. "You have the ears, but what about the tail?" Anya asked innocently, then she lunged at Mai, who quickly jumped out of the chair and ran around the room to avoid her.

Teriko watched the scene in surprise while Cress smiled in amusement. Finally, Anya managed to intercept Mai as she turned the corner of the table, and she yelped. She squirmed in Anya's grasp as she tried taking off the cloak. "Let's see what's under there, shall we?" Anya said gleefully. "No! That's private!" Mai protested with a blush. "This is making me uncomfortable." Teriko said while trying to shield the view. Cress just laughed. Anya managed to unfasten the cloak, and she took it off with a flourish. Teriko and Cress stared in amazement at the long cat tail that waved back and forth.

Anya looked ecstatic, while Mai looked like she wanted to hide. She looked down and a shadow hid her expression. She started shaking and growling, causing Anya's smile to waver. "Uh…what's wrong?" She asked nervously. Mai turned to her, then looked up with an angry and blushing face, and Anya stepped back. "Anya…" Mai began quietly. "Don't you know not to invade someone's personal space when you don't know who they are!" She yelled. The sound echoed outside the shop, causing a couple of passerby to look at it curiously.


	12. Hunter's promise: An interrupted moment

Author's Note: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaa! Oh man, I'm so ashamed of myself for laughing at the poor guy.

Once everything had calmed down, Anya apologized. "Sorry about that." She said sheepishly. "It was just my first time seeing one of you, and I was wondering if the tails were real." Mai sighed. "It's alright, but next time ask me before you do that." She said. "I think we should get started with the introductions." Teriko suggested. "We just met each other, so we have to do that." Anya nodded in agreement. "I'll start." She offered. "I'm Anya Aura, my family owns the Aura Farm." "Nice to meet you, I'm Teriko." He said. "And I'm Mai." She finished. Anya smiled at them. "Pleased to meet you." She said happily.

"So what is Aura Farm?" Teriko asked curiously. "We raise livestock so we can sell their products at the market." Anya answered. "We make sure they're well cared for, and nothing goes wrong." Anya sighed sadly. "But unfortunately, we had some trouble on the way here." That alarmed Cress. "What trouble?" She asked. "We left at the usual time." Anya explained. "It takes about half an hour to get here in the caravan. Well we were just halfway there when we were attacked by some goblins." She sighed again. "My guards Eli and Weiss managed to drive them off, but they were seriously injured, and are being treated at the hospital as we speak." Cress clenched her fist. "Damn those monsters." She said angrily. "How could they do that to you guys?" She stood up and looked determinedly at Anya, who stared at her in surprise. "I'm not going to let this happen again." Cress said. "My friends and I will accompany you on your way back. When do you leave?"

Anya recovered from her shock. "In a few hours." She answered. "But-" "No 'buts' about it." Cress interrupted. "You're my best friend, I can't let you go off by yourself when monsters attacked you. Besides, Eli and Weiss need to be avenged." A tear leaked out of Anya's eye, and she brushed it away. She smiled at Cress. "There's no way you're backing out, right?" She asked. Cress nodded in confirmation Then Anya turned to Teriko, who gave her a thumbs up. "We're with Cress on this one." He said, and Mai nodded. "We'll keep you safe." Cress promised. Anya looked gratefully at all of them. "Alright, rest up and we'll leave in a few hours." She said.

Teriko lay on the floor, while Mai sat on the bed. He was thinking about how to protect someone when he didn't even know how to fight. All he knew was the pretend swordfighting he did with his friends back home. Man…he worried about his parents. They probably noticed him missing from his bedroom and looked for him. He could imagine his mom crying over his disappearance, and his dad thinking he ran away. His friends would wonder where he was… "What's wrong?" Mai asked, and he was torn from his thoughts. "What?" He asked. "You're crying." She pointed out. Teriko noticed the tears and brushed them away. "I just miss my home, that's all." He said.

Mai sighed sadly. "At least you have a home." She said, then flopped back and curled up on the bed. "I was treated like I was a monster. I never really had friends until I met you guys." Her tail wound around her. "I'm an outcast even among my own kind." Teriko sat up and looked at her in surprise. "You're telling me even your own family treated you that way?" Mai nodded. "Well, my mom at least cared for me, but she died a year ago." She said. "I was eventually fed up with the treatment, so I ran away a few days ago."

As she said this, Teriko got up and approached the bed. He slowly sat down beside her. "You at least have us now" He said comfortingly. "It doesn't matter if the rest of the world hates you, so long as you have a few people to stand by your side." Mai smiled bitterly. "Everyone, even you, would hate me if they knew what I was." Teriko tilted his head. "What do you mean?" "They have a reason to hate me." Mai explained vaguely. "This…" She sat up and put a hand over her shoulder, as if to grab something. "Is part of the reason." She finished. Teriko's eyes widened as light slowly started appearing on her back.

They were interrupted when the door opened, and the light faded. Before it was fully opened, Teriko fell over in panic, pushed Mai down onto the bed, and she yelped. Cress, with Anya behind her, stepped into the room with a bag of treats in hand. "Hey guys!" She said happily. "Check out we-" She saw the scene in front of her and stopped. "What is it Cress?" Anya asked curiously. She looked over her shoulder and became shocked at the sight.

Teriko was on top of a blushing Mai in an awkward position, and both were looking at Cress and Anya embarrassedly. There was a moment of silence between them, then Cress got angry. She let go of the bag, summoned her crossbows, and pointed them at Teriko. He sat up with a scream and put his hands up. "It wasn't what you think it is, I swear!" He said hastily. Cress ignored him. "You sneaky, treacherous, and dirty little ba-" There were screams echoing outside once again as Cress fired at the innocent boy, and more passerby looked at the shop, wondering what could be going on in there.


	13. Childhood Friends

Anya managed to calm Cress down, but she was still a little steamed. So Teriko took the opportunity to explain everything. "We were just talking, that's all." He said truthfully. "When you opened the door, I panicked and fell on Mai." Cress sighed in annoyance. "I'll let you off the hook this time, but no funny business, understand?" She said. Teriko and Mai nodded. Cress smiled in amusement and picked up the bag. "Now how about we go take these to our friends at the hospital?" She asked.

The hospital was one of the bigger buildings in town, and was not going to be Teriko's favorite place anytime soon. As they walked through the halls, he felt uncomfortable. There was just silence, and no else besides them, the doctor guiding them, and the occasional nurse or doctor passing by. It was just a little creepy. Mai was having similar thoughts. Soon enough, they reached the top floor, and the first room on the right: C-01 Eli Tensen/Weiss Arturo. "Here we are. Take your time." The doctor said kindly.

The quietly stepped inside, and found a man of eighteen and a young girl. The man was well built, handsome, had wavy blonde hair, and was currently awake. He quickly turned his head to see them. The girl was asleep, and all that could be seen was her cute face and white hair in a curl that went over her shoulder. The man saw Cress and Anya among the group, and he gently shook the girl awake. "Wake up. Cress and Anya are here." He said. The girl groaned, sat up, and yawned. She opened her tired eyes, looked at them, and smiled. "Glad you could come see us, the food here is awful." She said jokingly.

Cress and Teriko took spots near the girl's bed, while Anya and Mai sat near the man. The man started the introductions. "Hello there you two, I'm Eli. I'm sure you can guess who the lady is." The woman raised a hand. "I'm Weiss, nice to meet you." She said. Teriko and Mai gave their names. "I heard you were injured fighting off goblins." Teriko said. Eli sighed sadly. "Couldn't do more than fight them off, and we took quite a bit of injuries from the scuffle." He said. "Are you guys feeling any better?" Anya asked worriedly. Eli smiled bitterly. "The damage we took hasn't healed yet, but we were given pain suppressors, so we can go through it." He frowned and shook his head. "But we don't know when we will be released. I can't stay here too long." "Oh come Eli, Cheer up!" Cress said optimistically. "I'm sure you will be out soon." Weiss leaned over and took Eli's hand. "Besides, you got your fiance to keep you company." She said teasingly. Eli chuckled nervously. Anya and Cress covered their laughs, while Teriko and Mai looked unsettled. "Fiance…just how old are you?" Teriko carefully asked Weiss. "I'm eighteen, why?" She answered casually. When she said eighteen, Teriko fell over from the shock, while Mai was surprised. "You look like you could pass for fifteen with a look like that!" She said wondrously.

Weiss sighed. "I know, at least I actually sound my age." "Can't be so bad, can it?" Teriko asked. Eli sweat dropped while Weiss deadpanned. "When you marry someone who looks three years younger than you, you take that back." Eli said. "You don't know how many times I had to correct people on my age." Weiss said in annoyance. "Sure, people can get married around fifteen, but the age of the people getting married has to be close, so that will be a problem when we see a wedding planner." Teriko looked confused. "People can get married at fifteen?" He asked. "That's right." Eli said happily. "It's been a custom for centuries, but I decided to propose to her a week ago." Weiss sighed sadly. "And we were going to see a wedding planner while Anya sold the products, but those monsters attacked us."

Teriko and Mai smiled at the couple. "But still, congratulations." Teriko said supportively. "And we hope you get better soon." Mai added. Eli and Weiss smiled back at them. "Thank you." Eli said. "I still find it surprising at how young you can marry." Teriko said. "Where I come from, we can marry at eighteen. That's more reasonable to us." Cress shrugged. "I'm guessing customs are different, depending on where you're from."

Teriko thought of something. "How did the four of you meet?" He asked them curiously..

The four friends exchanged smiles. "It was around nine years ago." Anya started. "I was just a little girl then, and it was my first trip to the market with my father." Cress stepped in. "And it was my first trip too." Cress recalled. "Three nights before, an old Hunter found me seriously injured in the forest." She turned to the side so Teriko and Mai could see the scar on her arm. "She took me in and nursed me back to health. After I recovered, she took me to the market, and I met Anya while I was wandering around the town."

Anya continued. "We encountered each other at the same sweets shop." She laughed. "There was only one more rock candy, and we argued over it." Cress looked sheepish. "Not the best way to meet somebody." She admitted. "But that didn't matter too much." Anya pointed out. "You gave me the candy anyway, and we became friends." Cress put her hands behind her head. "We went around the town and goofed off, until we heard something going on in the plaza." She said. "Naturally we checked it out, and found two boys ganging up on one, with a girl telling them to stop." Eli and Weiss spoke up. "The boy was me." Eli confirmed. "And the girl was me." Weiss finished. "We watched until one of them put Eli in a headlock, then Cress got mad." Anya continued. "Before I knew it, she ran into the fight. That really surprised me." Cress shook her head. "I wasn't about to let someone possibly get killed." She said. Then she smirked. "Anyway, I saved Eli from that bit of trouble."

(Flashback)

The boy in a red cap had the blonde one in a headlock, while the third one was laughing at the sight."Leave him alone!" Cress yelled angrily. The capped boy turned his head around, and was met with punch to his cheek. He fell to the ground, and his captive caught his breath. He turned to Cress, and gave a thumbs up, which she returned. They turned to the other boy, who yelped in fright and took off. The capped one got up and turned to them. They stared each other down, until he thought better of it and ran away. Anya and the other girl cheered and ran up to the victors.

Cress stood by Anya, while the blonde boy stood by the girl. "Thanks for helping me out." He said gratefully. "No problem, just glad I could." Cress responded. "Who are you?" The girl asked curiously. Cress smiled at her. "I'm Cress." She said, and held out her hand. "The name's Eli." The boy place his on top. "Anya, nice to meet you!" She placed hers next. "And I'm Weiss." She was last. "Say, can we be friends?" Anya asked. Eli chuckled. "Of course, you just saved me, why wouldn't we be?" He said. "Yay! We got new friends!" Weiss said happily. Cress looked at all of them. "Alright, from this day forward, we're friends forever!" She declared. "Yeah!" They shouted, and threw their hands up.

(End of flashback)

"After that, we shared many adventures over the years." Eli said wistfully. "Then on my fourteenth birthday, my caretaker died, and I took her job as a Hunter." Cress said sadly. "That's where I got my crossbows and the house." "And I was given the responsibility of selling our products, so we stopped playing together." Anya added. "At least we took the job of being your guards a year ago." Weiss said. "You get to watch us train after you do your chores." "And we still see each other every week," Eli pointed out. "So we're not really apart for long." Teriko smiled at the thought, while Mai felt a little envy. (To have someone close to you, is that all you'll ever need in life?) They thought simultaneously.

Anya got up and stretched. "Alright, it's time to go." She announced. The rest, except Eli and Weiss, followed suit. Cress left the bag of treats with the couple, and they said their goodbyes and walked out the door one by one.


	14. Don't Back Down

Author's Note: So after a short while to think, here is the next chapter. Thank you for reading. (Edit: made the mistake of putting South Plains of Elis for the north direction, silly me. Fixed that. Also forgot to put the name of the valley.)

They stood outside the east gate, in front of a caravan. Anya was busy tying two horses to the front, and making sure everything was in shape. Teriko, Mai, and Cress were inside, discussing a bit about Ygdrasil. Cress laid out a map, which showed four different terrains, with Castle Town in the center. "This is the land we live in." Cress explained. "To the north is the North Plains of Elis and the Forest of Hecaton, which is where I live. Then to the south, there's the Pandemonium Desert, whose gate is currently blocked off. To the West, we have the Cactuar Beach, where you have a chance to run into the little runners. That leads to the Leviathan Ocean. Finally, to the east, there's the East Plains of Elis, which is where we're going through. That leads up to the Carbuncle Mountains, where my friends got attacked. Past that is the Fortuna Valley, which is our destination. There are villages and towns scattered throughout the land, but aren't that close, and my map only shows the portion close to Castle Town."

Teriko took it all in, and nodded. "Based on the map," He said thoughtfully. "The sizes of the beach, plains, and valley are the same, right?" Cress nodded. "It won't take as long to ride to our destination, as opposed to walking." She explained. "This caravan can make it to destinations in half the time. It's relatively easy to get from place to place, even on foot, but it appears that traveling will be harder, thanks to the monsters. "Mai sighed. "And it's easy to get lost in the forest because of the size, and you can't map it out." She said sadly. "Lucky I found a small clearing to camp out in, or I wouldn't have saw you falling through the sky." Just then, Anya climbed up and took the reins. She turned to them with a smile.

"Everything is good to go, are you ready?" She asked. All three of them nodded, then she turned her attention to the horses. "Let's go you two, giddy up!" She said, and lightly snapped the reins. The horse immediately started trotting forward, towards the mountains in the distance. As the ride went on, Teriko and Mai took the opportunity to look out the back. The sun was shining, and the grass waved as the wind blew. Behind them, the castle was shrinking as they went on. They could see the desert to their left and the forest to the right, and it seemed strange to have different terrains so close to each other. Yet, it was quite a sight to take in, and they were awed by it. "I've never seen anything like it." Teriko said in wonder. "Me neither." Mai said. Then a few minutes later, the caravan stopped. "Teriko, Mai, look at this." Anya said urgently. The two looked at each other curiously.

They stood in front of a bridge spanning a wide chasm, which looked as jagged a set of uneven teeth. On the other side was a set of mountains of varying sizes. Teriko looked down the chasm in awe, then gulped when he saw the dark abyss below. He took a deep breath, then went back to the caravan. Mai was already back inside, and he sat next to her. "What is that?" Teriko asked as the caravan resumed its travel. "That is Titan's Gorge." Cress answered. "It was made when monsters first rose from the earth. Nobody knows what's down there, and you would be a fool to check. Connecting the sides is the Holy Bridge, made by the Angels and Dragoons. It prevents people from falling into that horror down there, thank them for that."

It was couple of minutes later when Anya turned and warned them that they were approaching the danger zone. "Teriko, Mai lay low and be safe." She said seriously. "Cress, I'll need you to use your crossbows to shoot down any goblins approaching the caravan. I'm going to ride through as fast I can." She faced the entrance to the mountains and took a shaky breath. She snapped the reins and the horses moved forward slowly. The scene got a little darker. At first, everything was quiet, and it looked like nothing could go wrong.

Then that changed when they heard a growl from above them.

Cress peeked her head out and looked up to see where the sound came from. On a ledge, there was an ugly, humanoid creature with bright yellow eyes and sharp fangs. It jumped down with a screech, and Cress summoned her crossbows just in time to keep it from landing. It faded into dark smoke. "So that's what a goblin looks like." Cress remarked. "It's a little scarier than what I imagined, but just as bad in the looks." Then more started revealing themselves. They soon surrounded the caravan and the horses whinnied. Anya looked around worriedly. "What do we do?" She asked. "There's no opening." Teriko and Mai looked at Cress nervously. Cress smiled confidently. "Break through!" She shouted. Anya hesitated, then stared ahead determinedly. "Hiya!" She shouted, then snapped the reins hard. The horses bolted, causing the caravan to shake as it was pulled forward with high speed. It trampled a line of goblins blocking their path, causing them to be mixed with the dust in their wake.

A couple of the creatures managed to latch on, but Cress shot them off. "That'll show ya!" She shouted, and went back inside to be greeted with cheers from Teriko. They took a couple of turns, and heard galloping behind them. Teriko looked outside and screamed when he saw the goblins riding on some black boars with crazy red eyes. Cress saw the things and scowled. "They just don't let up." She said angrily. Mai peeked out and gasped. "Those are miniature versions of something I fought night last." She explained. "You have to hit them where the tail meets the back." Cress studied their pursuers, then shook her head. "I can't get a clear shot, even if I shoot the riders." Teriko hastily tried to think, then thought of something. "Maybe you can get them from above?" He asked hopefully. Cress hesitated, then grinned. "Anya! Can I climb up the caravan?" She asked. Anya thought about it. "You can try, but I'm not sure it's safe." She answered uncertainly. Cress was already climbing up when she said 'can'.

Cress managed to reach the top. She sat down with one hand gripping the caravan for support, then she took aim with her remaining crossbow. The ride was shaking, making it hard to aim, but that didn't matter to her. "Say your prayers." She whispered, then fired. The bolt of energy hit one of the riders, causing him to fall off and go tumbling into the rocky ground. Its steed's eyes widened in panic, and it thrashed around, hitting the other boars and making them and their riders to fall over. Finally, Cress finished it off with a well-aimed shot. Everyone breathed sighs of relief now that they were safe. Minutes later, Anya shouted happily. Up ahead, a valley could be seen, they were home free.

Then when they exited the mountains, there was the sound of wood breaking, and the caravan crashed into the ground.

A moment passed, then Teriko, Mai, and Cress weakly climbed out of the wreckage. Teriko fell to his knees and groaned in pain. Cress and Mai examined their surroundings. "What happened?" Mai asked worriedly. Cress clenched her fists. "I knew something was off!" She shouted angrily. "They wouldn't let us go so easily!" She turned to find two goblins with wooden clubs standing at the entrance to the mountains. They laughed evilly, then ran inside. Cress glared at their direction, then gasped when she remembered something. "Anya." She said worriedly. She looked around and saw her laying still on the ground, bruised and covered in dirt. Cress knelt down and checked her. "She's okay." Cress assured Mai, who was watching her. Cress checked the horses as well. They were out cold, but fine. Teriko recovered. He stood up and looked at the broken caravan.

"There's no way we'll be able to go." He said sadly. "And I think those goblins are going to bring backup." Cress turned to the mountains and stared thoughtfully. "I think we'll be able to go," She said confidently. "We just need to hold out until Anya and the horses wake up." Mai looked down worriedly, and her tail wrapped around her. "But who knows if we can hold out." She lamented. "We're going to be outnumbered, you saw how many there were." Cress scoffed. "I'm a Hunter, I can handle them." She said determinedly. "It's just you two I'm worried about, you don't have weapons. Well, not any that I know of."

Mai shuffled nervously, while Teriko thought about the weapon that was given to him. (Come to think of it, where is that sword Wendy gave me?) He thought curiously. He snapped back to attention when he heard the goblins laugh.

They were flooding out of the mountains, surrounding them so they couldn't escape. Cress summoned her crossbows, while Teriko and Mai neared her. They stood back to back, looking around at their foes. Cress grinned. "Despite the likely chance that we'll win, I just want to say that it was nice knowing you." Teriko gave a bitter smile. "I can agree to that, even though our moments weren't the greatest." He said. Cress chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about shooting you." The goblins closed in. "Goodbye, everyone." Mai said quietly. "I was happy to have had you as friends."

Cress charged forward, and so did their foes.


	15. First Fight

Author's note: The moment you've been waiting for! The fight has commenced! This is my first all-out one, so if there is anything I can do to improve, let me know.

When the fight started, Teriko and Mai focused on defending Anya and the horses. Mai took the steeds while Teriko stood defensively over the farm girl. He tried intimidating the goblins in front of him. "Um…I might not have a weapon, but you shouldn't even dare to fight me!" He said as fiercely as he could. The goblins gave each other confused looks, then slowly approached him with clubs drawn. "OK, that didn't work." Teriko admitted sadly. "Got to this the old fashioned way." He yelled and charged straight into the goblins' ranks. All of them, except for one, moved aside as he threw a charging punch.

The one remaining blocked it easily, and Teriko was caught off guard. The next second, he was thrown on to the ground, and he quickly rolled to avoid a strike from a club. He got to his feet and tried another punch. This time, it got the goblin in the face and it staggered back a step. Teriko gave a small laugh at the victory, but it was short lived when the goblin glared at him. It started swinging its club wildly, and he had to duck, tilt, and roll to avoid the onslaught. Finally, Teriko was swept off his feet and he landed hard on the ground. He winced at the pain, then looked up to see the goblin hovering over him with a club held high. He shut his eyes tight, waiting for the worst. The creature slammed down with great force.

Then a deep, metallic 'clang' rang from above, causing him to open his eyes. He stared in surprise as Mai stood over him, blocking the strike with a giant sword made with steel, gold, and iron. She didn't even waver from the force, and the goblin stumbled back in surprise. Before it could even recover, Mai spun around and cleaved it in half, causing it to fade into dark smoke. The rest of the goblins backed off warily, eyeing her and the weapon cautiously.

Mai looked back at Teriko with concern. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Uh…yeah. Thank you." He answered. He got up and they stood back to back. "I can't do anything about this, I don't have a weapon." He said regretfully. Mai sighed. "I'm not sure I can get through this either, there's just too many." She said sadly. But she narrowed her eyes. "But I'm still going to try!" She lunged to forward, slashing a row of goblins before they could react. Then she proceeded to swing her sword around, cutting up another five. Teriko noted the way she moved her body. She had to bend over sometimes to let the heavy weapon circle over her, move a certain direction so she could strike, and the length made her keep her distance. The weight also made Mai's strikes somewhat slow, despite her strength.

Soon enough, the goblins had caught on to her fighting style, and they rushed at her. Mai attempted to stem the tide of enemies, but they were too close. All she could do was block every hit thrown at her. Her strength made her defense stalwart, but Teriko knew the numbers would overwhelm her.

While he and Mai struggled with their share of the crowd, Cress was doing a good job of dealing with hers. She had leaped over the wave of goblins during her charge at the start of the fight. She did a somersault and fired on the ones below her, making them fade away. The rest stepped back in surprises as she landed. She got up, looked around at all of them, and grinned. "You want some?" She taunted. They goblins roared and charged at her.

One got in front of her, but she kicked it back and shot it in the stomach. Another tried coming up behind her with a shout, and she simply pointed her crossbow backward and got it in the face. When the crowd got too close, Cress jumped on their heads. She ran over them until she was behind the wave. They turned to her with bared fangs. Cress shook her head. "Alright, I was playing with you." She said seriously. "Now I'm going all out." Her crossbows transformed into the arm cannons. "Who's up first?"

The goblin in front rallied his brethren, and they charged. Cress fired orbs of energy into the crowd, and the resulting explosion destroyed some of them. The rest continued to move on, intent on killing her. She took another shot, but despite the casualties, they continued to rush at her.

Cress tried firing again, but the cannons started to let out steam. "Damn!" She muttered angrily. She ran off, switching to her crossbows as she did so. The crowd of goblins chased after her.

As that happened, Mai was finally hit in the back, and she fell to the ground. "Ah!" She let out painfully. "Mai!" Teriko shouted. He ran over to her. When he got there, she was still on the ground, rolling around to avoid being struck by the goblins' clubs. Six managed to corner her, and they raised their weapons at the same time. Mai attempted to raise her sword, but some more came and pinned her arms down. Teriko charged at the group and tried to pull them away, but they knocked him down and turned their attention to him. They surrounded him and he got to his feet.

Teriko looked over the goblins' shoulders to see Mai still pinned down by the goblins, watching in horror. He looked around him, and realized the situation was hopeless. (No way out of this one.) He thought sadly. (Sorry I let you guys down.) They drew closer. (I don't want to die, nobody back home will know what happened to me.) They raised their clubs and he closed his eyes. (Don't bring me to this place just to get me killed, that can't be what I'm here for!) When they struck, he yelled and swung his arm.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in his hand, and he held the beautiful silver sword from the night before.

Teriko looked at it in surprise, then saw what was happening around him. The goblin in front of him was staring at a cut across his stomach. The rest had backed off with confused looks. Mai was staring at him in surprise, and her captors had scrambled away. He looked at the sword once again, then at the goblin in front of him. It looked up at him too, then it got angry and struck with its club. Teriko quickly blocked the strike, but staggered back from the force.

He then tried to slice the goblin, but his movement was a little clumsy, and it knocked the strike back with ease. Teriko was stunned. (How come the weapon isn't making a difference?) He thought. "Hey!" Teriko looked to see Mai waving at him. "What's wrong?" She asked. He sidestepped a strike. "This is my first time using this weapon!" He replied. He rolled away from a swipe. "It doesn't feel right!" Mai slashed a row of goblins. "Get familiar with your sword!" She instructed. "Think of it as an extension of yourself!"

Teriko nodded and focused on fighting his opponent. With every swipe, he gradually got more of a handle on his sword. He was surprised when he managed to hit the goblin a sixth time, and it faded into smoke. More decided to approach him, and he confidently fought them. As he sliced, spun, and dodged, he felt his fighting transform. Soon, he was back flipping, swinging his sword in different ways. Every few hits, he was making a goblin fade away.

He really didn't notice anything else, until he heard Mai and Cress's comments. "Wow, he's so fast!" Mai said in amazement. "I reckon he could rival an Elf's swordplay with speed like that." Cress remarked. Then she shot another goblin in face. Teriko focused on his movements, and realized what they were talking about. He was swinging his sword faster than was humanly possible. His blade was a shining blur as it cut through the ranks of creatures.

He stopped his onslaught and ran to Mai, who was starting to tire out from the fighting. Teriko was feeling a little out of breath too, but he pressed his back to Mai's. "Even with my help, we're going to get overwhelmed." He said worriedly. Mai cut a goblin from its shoulder, to the hip. She panted. "I'm afraid so, but what are going to do?" She said anxiously. "Even Cress is on the run."

Teriko deflected a strike and stabbed at the attacker. They continued to fight, but eventually they grew too weary to go on. Teriko fell to his knees, and Mai weakly stood up, using her sword for support. Cress was breathing heavily, and her crossbow bolts weren't doing as much as they should've. Finally, she dropped them. They disappeared in a flash of light, and she collapsed. "I-it's over." She whispered tiredly. Teriko and Mai's swords disappeared as well, and she fell to the ground as well. The remaining monsters started to converge upon them, and all Teriko could do was watch in horror.

(This can't be the end, it can't.) He thought. (We had a small comeback, it can't end here.) His eyes fell to the ground. (Mai.) She lay behind him, unmoving. (Cress.) She was on her back, eyes closed. (We can't give up. Maybe someone can save us.) He held his head high and shouted. "Somebody help us!" He yelled pleadingly.

Then bolts of lightning came down and shocked the goblins surrounding them.


	16. Turn the Tide

Author's Note: this took longer than usual. I had school work, but I worked on this bit by bit. I hope it satisfies. I wonder if anyone figured out who joined the battle...

The goblins' ranks were thrown into chaos. Upon seeing their brethren being sent to oblivion, they ran around in panic. Some of them even bumped into each other while trying to find safety. Teriko watched the scene in confusion. "What's going on?" He thought out loud. Then something black dropped down and obscured his vision. He looked up and saw the back of a familiar helmet.

It was the armored boy Ken, wielding a blood-red spear, and he was saving their lives.

Then Teriko gasped as he was shrouded in a green aura, and suddenly felt rejuvenated. He got to his feet and looked around. He saw Lee holding up a golden staff, with the tip emitting a green light. Then Teriko saw Cress and Mai getting the same treatment.

Both woke up and saw the confusion going on around them. They quickly got up and regrouped with Teriko. "Are you alright?" Mai asked Teriko when she reached him. "Yeah." Teriko answered with relief. "Thanks to the brothers." Cress ran up to them, and Mai asked the same question. Cress nodded. "Thank goodness the Angel and his Dragoon brother came." Cress said with a grin. "Now what do we do?" Ken glanced back at them. "You could get back into the fight." He said in a monotone, then ran into wave of goblins. They had recovered from their surprise, and were now regrouping. The trio looked at each other, then smiled. They stood back to back and summoned their weapons. "Alright everyone, let's turn this tide!" Teriko shouted confidently.

He and Mai charged together, while Cress went to Lee.

Lee was trying to defend himself against the horde. As they rushed at him, he hit one with his staff, sidestepped a strike, jumped up, then launched balls of fire into their ranks. Some of them burned to a crisp, leaving small piles of black powder. He hovered back down, then twirled his staff to intimidate them, although his face showed that he was nervous. Most of them backed off, but a few ran at him with their clubs raised. He gasped and thrust his hand out. Just as he did that, the goblins reached him and swung down.

The clubs didn't even come close to hitting, because something got in the way

They were blown back by a magical barrier that Lee had used in defense. They crashed into the rest of the crowd, knocking some of them out. The ones that were conscious looked at him warily. He panted a bit, then regained his composure. He was just about to charge in when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and looked behind him, but he sighed with relief. It was Cress, and she was looking down at him with a grin. "You've done enough kid, let the grown-up take care this." She commanded. "But did you see that caravan?" Lee nodded in confirmation, wondering what she wanted. "There's a girl near it." Cress explained with a serious expression. "I want you to hide with her in the wreckage. If the goblins come, defend her with your life, understand?" Lee became determined. "I will." He answered.

As he flew off, Cress moved forward to the goblins, flipping her crossbows. "I'll keep them busy!" She shouted, and beckoned the crowd. "Who's ready to fight? I'll take all of you on!" The goblins took the challenge and rushed at her.

Meanwhile, Teriko and Mai were fighting together. She had just slashed in a wide arc, slicing some goblins half. They faded into smoke, and she flipped back to his side. "Thinking we might be overrun?" She asked casually. He dealt barrage of stabs to another one. "If they rush at us, we'll be." He answered. She deflected a blow from one more, causing it to stagger back. "They are getting closer." She pointed out. He looked back at her with a smile. "Then how about we go on the offensive?" He asked. She returned his gaze and smiled back. "That's fine by me." She said.

Then she leaped up high and brought down the flat of her weapon for a slam on the shocked horde of goblins. The ones hit by the big sword were crushed beneath it, while the ones nearby were blown back by the shockwave. When she regained her balance, she heaved her sword for a spin attack. The goblins around her were cut up.

Teriko fought with the rest of their attackers. He dealt a series of slashes to one opponent, then spun around another when it swung at him, and back flipped for an uppercut. Then he did an X shape for a finish. It was only when he got surrounded by the wave that he started to get nervous. "Heh heh…this could take awhile." He said.

Then there was Ken, who was doing pretty well on his own. He stabbed a goblin in the gut, then cut down two more when they charged at him. When the crowd rushed at him, he spun his spear around him and kept them at bay. They backed off, and he pointed his spear in the air. Lightning rained down upon them, shocking them into oblivion. Then he proceeded to slash down the rest. The one remaining ran away in fright, but Ken didn't let it go. He aimed his spear and threw it. It struck the creature in the back and came out of its chest, leaving a hole right there. It fell over and faded into smoke.

Cress was dealing with the rest of her crowd. She was able to count the number because of the thinning waves, and got to twenty. (This is nothing.) She thought confidently. Her crossbows transformed into the arm cannons, and she pointed them at the crowd. They stopped in their tracks and looked at her warily. She smirked. "Take this." She said, and she pulled the trigger. An orb of energy shot forward and exploded on a goblin. It was destroyed, along with a few others. The rest tried to scatter, but Cress fired the other three shots, and nearly all of them suffered the same fate. Three were left behind, and they were glaring at her. Cress's cannons to their original forms, and she twirled them. "Are you mad?" She asked with grin. They growled and ran at her. She shook her head in amusement and fired at them. One shot got a goblin in the head, the rest got the other two in the stomach.

Teriko did sliced down his last one with a somersault, and the fight ended right there.

He dismissed his weapon and sat down, panting from exhaustion. Mai walked over and collapsed beside him. Lee and a recently healed Anya peeked out of the wrecked caravan. Cress laughed heartily and cheered at their victory, firing bolts of energy into the air. "We won!" She yelled in triumph. "That will teach them!" Ken just stood there silently, with no sign of emotion.

Lee got out of the wreckage and ran to his brother, while Anya went to Teriko and Mai. They looked at her with relieved smiles as she neared them. "Are you guys alright?" Anya asked in concern. "Just tired, but we're fine." Teriko answered. "But I thought you would want to check on Cress first." She chuckled and gestured behind her. He and Mai noticed Cress's celebration and laughed.

Cress finished her antics, and she jogged over to them. She put Anya in a bear hug when she got there. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Cress said happily. Anya gasped. "Can't breath." She squeaked. Cress immediately let go and grinned. "Sorry." She apologized. Then she got to her knees and hugged Teriko and Mai. "You two are full of surprises." Cress exclaimed. "I would never have expected such a good fight, especially from this guy." She gestured to Teriko, who looked at her in disbelief. "Well thanks for the praise." He said sarcastically, and they laughed.

Lee and Ken walked over to them, and they stopped. Teriko got up and greeted them. "Thanks for the help. We couldn't have done it without you." He said sincerely. Lee smiled kindly, and looked at his brother, who just glanced at Teriko briefly. "Don't mention it." Lee said. "I'm just glad we got here in time." Teriko put a hand on his head in thought. Something bothered him a little bit.

"How did you know we were in danger?" He asked skeptically. Lee tapped his temple lightly. "I set up a mental link to you guys." He explained. "It's a special bond. With it, I can hear your thoughts, even from afar." Teriko was surprised. "Why did you choose us?" He asked. Lee thought about it. "I don't know for sure." He answered uncertainly. "It just felt like something I should do. Like something connects all of us." He shook his head. "In any case, I can choose to let you hear my thoughts as well. So we can communicate in case of emergency."

Teriko nodded. "OK, thank you for doing that." He said appreciatively. Cress raised her hand. "So with this link, can we hear each other's thoughts as well?" She asked innocently. Teriko didn't like the smile she had on her face. Lee had noticed it as well. "Yes." He answered carefully. "But the link only works in an emergency, like in a battle. Of course, if we're asleep it doesn't work at all." Cress her hand down. "Oh, OK." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Thanks for the help anyway. I think we should be going, right guys?"

"Um…" Anya got everyone's attention. "We still have a problem." She pointed at the caravan, which was still broken. Teriko, Cress, and Mai sighed sadly. To everyone's surprise, Lee ran over to it. They watched silently as he inspected at the wreckage. He nodded his head, and turned to them.

"Brother!" He called. Ken looked at him. "Can you carry all of this?" Lee asked.


	17. The Farm

To everyone's complete amazement, Ken actually carried the wrecked caravan. After healing the horses, Lee guided them out of the way so Ken could lift it up. Now everyone was walking through the valley, with Anya leading the way.

As they walked, Teriko looked around at the landscape. "This is bigger than I thought it was." He said in wonder. Cress chuckled. "Wait until I show you the actual map." She said with a grin. "It's going to take longer to get to the farm than we planned, but once we do, we'll give you an explanation on how things go around here."

Teriko nodded with enthusiasm. "I can't wait!" He said. "After seeing this, I definitely want to get to know this place." He glanced at Mai. "And maybe about these 'races' too. They seem to be important to history."

About half an hour later they stood in front of a big wooden gate. The sign at the top read 'Aura Farms'. Anya turned to them and spread out her arms. "This is the place!" She announced with a smile. "To my new friends, I welcome you to Aura Farms!" Then she pushed the gate open.

Teriko, Mai, and Lee gasped in amazement. Behind the gate was a massive area of land that held many farm animals. Horses grazed in a pen at the center of the place, a barn was along the east side of the fence, and a house for chickens to the west. There was even a training center to the north, and two big buildings on either side of the visitors. The fence that surrounded everything stretched out far, allowing a lot of room for the animals to roam.

"This is just incredible." Teriko said. Anya beamed at him. "Thank you!" She said proudly. "My family has spent years working on this, and now we're successfully managing this farm." She gestured to the house on the right. "This is where we live, and the hot springs and guest rooms are in the other building." Mai's ears twitched. "Hot spring?" She asked curiously. Cress chuckled and put an arm around her. "My friend, you have not lived until you've been in one." She said with a grin. Teriko sighed with anticipation. "I can't wait to get cleaned up." He said.

Anya giggled. "How about I let you try them after I check in with my father?" She offered. Teriko and Mai nodded enthusiastically. Anya looked at Ken, who was still carrying the caravan. "Could you put that near the barn?" She asked. He left for it without a word, and Lee was left with the horses. "You can take them to the others." She said, pointing to the rest of the horses. He nodded and gently pulled them along.

The rest of the group approached the home, and Anya knocked on the door. "I'm coming!" Said a man's voice from the inside. A few seconds later, the door opened and the man was revealed. He sported a bushy mustache and had shaggy hair. It was clear from the shade of red that this was Anya's father. He was tall, buff, and wore a pair of overalls over a red shirt.

He laughed when he saw his daughter, and picked her up in a bear hug. Anya winced from the force. "Put me down dad, I can't breath." She said with a squeak. He gently put her down and rubbed her hair affectionately. Then he realized there were visitors. "Who are these people?" He asked in surprise. "And what are they doing here?" Then he noticed Mai's ears and tail, and she stepped behind Cress shyly. "My word, that's a Cait Sith!" He said in amazement. Cress raised her hand in greeting. "Nice to see you again, Henry." She said. He blinked a bit, then scratched his head. "Cress? What's going on here?" He asked curiously. He looked around, then scratched his head. "Where are Eli and Weiss?"

"Calm down dad." Anya said soothingly. "We'll explain everything."

They sat a table, and talked about their escapades. It took a few minutes, but they managed to relay everything that happened so far to Henry, who put his head into his hands sighed. "Oh thank goodness." He said with relief. "I heard about monster attacks, but I never thought it would happen at a time like that. Thank you for protecting my daughter in Eli and Weiss's place, pray they recover soon." He stroked his beard thoughtfully and hummed. "But still, an Angel and Dragoon coming to the rescue, that's something you don't see everyday."

Then he turned his attention to Mai, who quickly put her head down. "And you never see a Cait Sith either." He added dangerously. "I would say more, but because you are newcomers, I have to give you a tour of our fine establishment." He sat up and put his hands to his hips. "Well, I'm Henry Aura, let's get on with the tour." He said happily.

It was the most interesting thing Teriko had experienced so far, which was saying a lot.

The first thing they visited was the horse pen, where they found Lee petting the beautiful animals. "Hey guys!" He greeted happily. Naturally, Henry was the first to step up. "Well what do ya know? The Angel is petting my horses." He said in amazement. "My name's Lee, sir." Lee said. "And your animals are nice." Then a horse nuzzled him and he laughed.

Next was the barn. Ken was leaning up against the side, and the caravan was a few feet away from him. He simply looked at them, then went back into whatever thoughts he had. "Uh…thank you for carrying the caravan young man." Henry said with an uncertain smile. "Don't mention it." Ken said in a monotone. Henry scratched his head. "Peculiar fellow, isn't he?" He asked curiously.

Cows were standing inside the barn when they entered it. They paid no attention to Teriko walked around and gawked at them. "These animals are quite oblivious." He stated in wonder. "I'd be careful if I were you." Henry warned. "Tick them off, and you will regret it." It was at that moment when one of the cows kicked a milk bottle that was laying on the floor. It rolled around until it stopped close to Teriko's feet.

He took one more step forward, and with a surprised shout, he tripped. He fell face forward, while the bottle flew backward and hit a cow in the face. He groaned and rolled over just as it gave a loud 'mooooo! in anger. The other cows collectively mooed and turned their attention to Teriko, who laughed nervously. "You have got to be kidding me." He said in disbelief.

There were various screams, shouts and moos a second after that.

At the horse pen, Teriko laid in a daze in front of Lee, who was using healing magic on him. Mai looked at Teriko in concern. "Will he be alright?" She asked. "Yeah." Lee answered with a nod. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him. You just finish the tour, he'll be up and about by then." As they walked away, Cress shook her head. "I will never understand how he ends up in situations like this." She said with a hint of frustration. Then she chuckled. "But it will still be something to make fun of."

Then there was the chicken house, which Mai took a particular interest in. She peeked inside, and saw the white feathered birds. They were sleeping soundly, comfortable in their nests. She slowly stepped inside for a closer look, which alarmed Henry and Cress. He went in after Mai, and tried to warn her. "Step away from them." He whispered loudly. "You'll scare the feathers off of them." She ignored him, and hovered over a chicken in the back of the house. She stared at it in curiosity.

It slept a few seconds longer, then its gentle breathing stopped. Its eyes slowly opened and it looked up. In the darkness, Mai's eyes were illuminated, and she looked even more cat-like. The chicken cried out in alarm, causing her to jump back with a yelp. The other bird were suddenly awake, screeching and flying around in panic. Mai screamed and they noticed her.

Needless to say, the tour wasn't going to be forgettable, not if Cress could help it.

"Ha! This is just priceless!" She said. They were sitting at the table, and she was currently laughing at their recent accident. "For a second there, I was afraid you were going to grab one. Then they just wake up and attack you!" Regained her composure. "Still, that's what happens when you look like a cat. Don't ever do that again, you hear me?" Mai sighed saidly. She was picking out feathers from her hair. "I just wanted to look at them, they're so cute." She said. Teriko, who had recovered from the cow rampage, smiled sheepishly. "It's not as bad as being kicked by a herd of cows." He pointed out. Then Anya opened the door and peeked in.

"Guys, the hot springs are ready!" She said happily. "Finally!" Teriko said in relief. "I can't wait to try it!" Mai said excitedly. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come one!" Cress said with a grin.

"Yeah!" They all shouted.


	18. Night Talks

Author's Note: writers block is a curse, but I managed to make this chapter. Hope it satisfies, and thank you for staying with me through the long waits.

Teriko walked out of the boys' hot spring, wrapped in a white towel. He went to the shelves that stood beside the stairs. They held clothes baskets for visitors who bathed in the hot springs.

He looked in his basket, but gasped in surprise. His jacket wasn't in there.

He quickly put on the rest of his clothes, then looked around the room frantically. When he couldn't find it, he fell to his knees. (Where could it have gone?) He thought worriedly. (Mom got me that, she's going to ground me for years!) Then he yelled when someone tapped his shoulder. He fell back in surprise, and saw Anya standing over him. She was trying not to laugh at him.

She coughed, stepped around him, then offered a hand. Teriko took it and Anya pulled him up. When he stood up, he could see that she was dressed in a pale blue dress, and had one hand behind her back. "What are you hiding?" He asked curiously. Anya looked down and traced the floor with her foot. "…You're jacket was all torn and dirty, so I…took it." There was silence for a few seconds, then Teriko's eye twitched. "You did what?" He asked. Anya waved her free hand hastily. "Don't yell at me!" She said. "I washed it and patched it up, here it is."

She revealed the jacket she was hiding, and it unfolded for a full view. Teriko's eyes widened. "Whoa." He said in amazement.

His jacket was not only fixed, it looked like almost completely different. His zipper was gone, but the orange stripe that ran along it was still there. Two yellow stripes circled around it. Teriko took the jacket and turned it around. The yellow stripes met with two red stripes that ran parallel down the back of the jacket.

The sleeves also got a makeover. The orange stripes that ran along it were replaced with blue bands around the shoulders, and black bands were at the wrists.

He blinked, then put it on and twisted around to see how it looked.

He looked back at Anya gratefully. "Th-this is amazing!" He said happily. "Thank you!" Anya giggled. "Your welcome, and don't worry about getting it banged up, I remade it with an extremely tough material." Teriko nodded, then remembered something. "Oh yeah, where are Cress and Mai?" He asked.

Soon enough, he was showing off his jacket to the both of them. They were as impressed with the design as he was.

A few hours later, it was time for dinner, and Teriko surprised everyone with his skill at cooking.

Upon being shown a stove, he took up an apron and went to it. He chopped up meat and vegetables, then put them in a pot that was on top of the stove. As that cooked, he molded some blobs of dough and placed them on a baking sheet, then carefully slide it into the stove. Then he looked in the cabinets, picked out some spices, and sprinkled them into the pot.

Minutes later, everyone was enjoying the stew and biscuits Teriko had made.

"A boy that can cook, not something you see everyday." Cress said as she tore a piece of biscuit off. "I mean, they're more along the lines of assistants to cooks. Even if they can actually make main courses and all of that, they're not as good as a woman's."

Teriko smiled proudly. "Cooking is something I want to be good at." He said. "To make a successful restaurant, that's my dream." Henry chuckled. "You have decent ability lad, but the women at restaurants around here are better." He pointed out.

After everyone had finished, it was time for bed, and Anya offered to show them they're rooms.

Teriko, Cress, Mai, and Anya were walking to the guest house, when a voice called for them. "Hey! Look up here!" They shifted their gazes to the roof and found Lee waving at them, with Ken beside him. They jumped down and slowed their fall when they were about to hit the ground.

"You're still here?" Teriko asked in surprise. Lee smiled. "Couldn't leave without saying goodbye." He said. "You're leaving?" Anya asked sadly. He rubbed the back of his head. "We kinda have to, don't know when monsters will attack the castle town again." He said. She groaned in frustration. "At least have the Dragoon stay-" She stopped when Ken suddenly took off.

They watched him fly away, his figure quickly hidden by the night sky. "He could've at least waved." Cress said in irritation. The look on Anya's face would've made Teriko laugh…if the situation wasn't sad. Lee walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll visit." He said comfortingly.

He stepped back, then jumped up. "See ya everyone!" He said as he hovered in the air. "If you need help, remember the mental link!" As he flew after Ken, everyone yelled their goodbyes. "Not like we're going to need it!" Cress added before the angel disappeared.

Teriko was still awake, looking out the window. He was thinking about the things that happened that day.

(First, I meet a Cress, then Mai right after her. The next thing I know, I'm fighting goblins and I nearly die. Now I'm here in a guest house at a farm.) He frowned in thought.

(That girl, Wendy, why did she bring me here? What is my purpose in this world? I'm not supposed to be here, yet, I am. There must be a reason.) He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open.

He looked around to see Mai looking in. "Uh…could you come with me?" She asked nervously.

He followed her to the back part of the second floor. A ladder was placed on the back wall, and Mai walked to it. She turned and beckoned Teriko to continue following her, then got on the ladder and climbed up. He was right behind her.

There was a trapdoor above them, and Mai looked down at Teriko with a smile. "Ready for a surprise?" She asked. He nodded, and she took a deep breath. She pushed the trapdoor open, then heaved herself to the top. He climbed up after her.

When he got to his feet, he was mesmerized by the sight. "Whoa." He said in amazement.

Millions of stars filled the night sky, shining like lanterns across the darkness. Mai was gazing at them too, and Teriko slowly stepped up to be beside her.

"Do you like the view?" She asked. He nodded happily. "It's amazing." He stated.

Mai gave a small laugh. "I had a feeling you would like it."

Teriko spread out his arms and closed his eyes. "At least there is something I can get used to." He smiled as he felt the night air.

"The cool air, stars out in the night. It's so peaceful and comforting." She said. Then she looked at him, and he felt her gaze.

He returned the look, and was entranced by her eyes. They were crimson, and to him, they sparkled like the stars above them. He couldn't look away, even if he wanted to.

"Some of that feeling…" Mai began quietly. "I feel…with-" She was interrupted by a cough from behind them.

They turned around and saw Cress tapping her foot on the roof. "My my." She said with a smirk. "I can't believe you would try to pull that Mai. Why did a nice girl like you do this?"

Mai and Teriko realized the implications, and she stepped back with a yelp, blushing furiously. At the same time, he jumped back…a little too far. His foot went over the edge of the roof and he fell off, screaming in fright.

Cress tried not to laugh while Mai looked on in shock at what had transpired. Cress breathed hard. "Oh man, I am so sorry." She said. "I really didn't mean to do that." Mai shook her head. "It's alright, let's just check on Teriko." She said worriedly.

They found him on the ground, dazed from the fall, and helped him up. "Thanks." He groaned. "Man that hurt." Cress rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry about that." She said. Teriko waved it off. "It's alright." He said. "I'm just wondering how long you were there." Cress chuckled. "I was there before you climbed up." She replied. "I was expecting you two to come to the roof."

"How did you know?" Mai asked curiously. "I saw you going up there after we bathed in the hot springs." Cress explained. "I figured you would go up there at night, so when you went to sleep, I went up there and waited." She crossed her arms. "I also wanted to talk to you about something, but you were enjoying yourselves, so I watched you."

Teriko was perplexed. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked. Cress turned her back to them and looked up at the stars.

"Years ago, my father seriously injured me. When that lady nursed me back to health, she took me in and taught me how to take care of myself." Cress explained. "I learned about the dangers of the land, as well as the beauty of it. When she showed me hunting for the first time, I wanted a life of adventure and fun. So the woman taught me about her life, and I became a Hunter." Then she sighed. "However, on her deathbed, she told me one more thing. A Hunter's job is not only making a living for herself, it's also about helping people in need. She said that once I gather two people to join me, I should do that. But I didn't agree to it because I was told to, I agreed because I remembered how I was hurt when I was little." She looked at the scar along her arm. "I wanted to help others with their own problems, so they wouldn't suffer the physical or emotional pain that I did."

Teriko and Mai glanced at each other. "Are you asking us what we think you're asking us?" Teriko asked curiously. Cress turned back to them with a determined look and nodded. "I want you to join me and become Hunters, so we can help others with their problems." She confirmed. "There are monsters appearing across the land, and there are crimes to stop." She put out her hand. "So will you join me?"

Teriko hesitated, then put his hand on top of hers, and Mai followed suit. "We'll help you as best as we can. Besides, what else can I do?" Teriko said with smile. "I had my own troubles." Mai stated. "I intend to help people so their problems can be solved, as well as get them to trust my kind."

Cress's eyes were watery, which caused Teriko and Mai to gasp in surprise. Cress quickly wiped away the tears and grinned. "So what do you say guys?" She asked. "Let's all shout it." They nodded in agreement.

"Who are we?" Cress asked.

"HUNTERS!" The trio shouted.

"Alright! From now on, we're all in this together!" Cress announced happily.

As they walked back to the quest house, Cress stopped Teriko and told Mai to go inside. She hesitated, then nodded. When she went inside, Cress turned to Teriko with a stern look. He stepped back fearfully, wondering what she wanted to say.

"Look, I'm not mad at you." Cress assured him. "I just want to let you know that if you realize how you feel, you better be careful." He frowned in thought. "What do you mean?" He asked. "You're not from this land." She replied, then started walking to the door. "Consider your choices wisely before you make your decision. Just know that I support your feelings."

Then she stepped inside, leaving him to think on what she said.


	19. Everest

Cress had woke up Teriko and Mai the next morning, and told them to meet her at the training center. Now they were standing in front of a large table as Cress brought a big roll of paper. "Alright!" Cress said as she spread the paper on the table. "This is the full map of Ygdrasil."

It was definitely impressive. The lands they were told about were in their exact locations, but the valley, forest, mountains, and desert were bigger than Teriko thought.

Even more surprising?

The mountains and forest surrounded different sides of the valley, so despite its size, it looked small compared to the combined size of the landscapes.

Several dots were labeled around the map, which Teriko figured were towns. The only place where towns weren't labeled was the forest, except for one star at the back. There was a star where Castle Town was, as well as the mountains and the ocean, so he figured those were capitols.

"This…is kinda hard to take in." Teriko said in amazement. Cress smiled in amusement. "Bigger than you thought, huh?" She asked. Then she looked around the map and put her finger on one of the dots, which was labeled 'Everest'.

"This is our destination." Cress explained. "This is Everest, a town known for having the coziest inn in the valley. Even with a few incidents here and there, its actually pretty peaceful, hasn't got attacked by monsters yet." Teriko and Mai were perplexed. "Then why are we going there?" The cat girl asked. She stepped back in fright when Cress growled.

"Something downright horrible is going to happen, that's why." She said menacingly. "I heard some gossip around town. Apparently, men are going from town to town and kidnapping a young woman from each one in the valley. Around the afternoon, they threaten the town to give them one, then come back in the middle of the night for a pick up." She banged her fist on the table, causing it to shake. "Dirty dogs, I know what they're doing, and its disgraceful. Especially for a woman."

Even Teriko knew what she was saying. "Horrible…" He muttered with a hint of anger. Mai looked down sadly. "How can anyone do that?" She asked. Cress pointed at each of the other towns in the valley. "All of them, except for Everest, have got struck." She continued. "Which means it's going to be next, so we need to get over there and figure out where those men are going, then we can rescue the women and they can go home. Everest is northeast from here, so let's go."

"Right!" Teriko and Mai said simultaneously.

Walking straight northeast, it took about an hour to reach their destination. By then, Teriko's legs were sore and he could barely stand up. Even so, he could still admire the town.

Castle Town was beautiful, with its impressive buildings and attractions, but Everest was a beautiful in a modest way. The air felt so calming, and the buildings were cozy looking, and were far apart, allowing people to stroll unhindered. Its main attraction was at the back end, where an inn three stories high was situated. It definitely looked comfortable from the outside, and several people were already filing out with happy smiles.

"Could we get a room, please?" Teriko asked before finally collapsing.

He woke up when water got splashed on his face. He sat up and coughed the liquid out of his lungs. "What the heck!" He said angrily. Cress and Mai were laughing at the situation, and Cress had the glass of water in her hand. "Sorry, it was too good to pass up." She managed to say before going back to her laughter. Teriko couldn't help but chuckle too, then he heard an unfamiliar laugh beside him.

He turned to the commotion to see a middle aged woman composing herself. She had brown hair in a bun, and a face that was looking at them kindly. She stood behind the front desk. "Good to see you're up." She said. "I'm Miss Hill, owner of this inn. Sorry for giving the lady that glass of water."

Teriko stood up and shook his head. "It's alright." He assured. "I probably wouldn't have gotten up any other way." Cress pat his shoulder and approached the front desk. "Actually, I planned on slapping you awake, but Mai stopped me." She admitted with a grin. Teriko sighed in disbelief, then remembered Mai's cat ears and tail, which were still out in the open.

"You're not against my Cait Sith friend, are you?" He asked suspiciously. Miss Hill shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not one of those people." She said. "I welcome anybody into the inn, except for hardened criminals. People respect my inn for that, even if the feline folk never show up." Mai smiled gratefully. The owner hummed in thought. "But what would a strange trio like you be doing here?" She asked.

"We're Hunters ma'am." Cress explained. "We've come to deal with a string of kidnappings. This town hasn't been struck yet, so we figured it would be next. We're going to follow those miscreants once they take a girl from here, ten rescue the rest." Miss Hill sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness, at least someone came to stop this." She said, then brightened up.

"Tell you what, I'll let you stay here for free. Think of it as a base of operations for the day." The trio shouted in joy. "OK, but we're still paying for room service." Cress said. Miss Hill gave a small laugh and reached into a small cupboard. She brought out a key with a tag hanging on it, and gave it to Cress. "The room number is on the tag, have a nice stay." The owner said with a smile.

"Alright, let's go!" Teriko said as he walked to the stairs. "Hey! I have the key!" Cress protested. He was just about to turn the corner and walk up when someone with sky blue hair collided with him.

"Agh!" They let out as they fell on fell backward. Teriko landed on his butt. He groaned in pain, rubbing his forehead, and opened his eyes. In front of him, a girl was also rubbing her forehead. Their eyes met, and Teriko quickly waved his hands in front of him. "I'm sorry Miss! I didn't mean to-" He started to say. "Miss! I'm a guy!" The person said in an obviously male voice. Teriko screamed in shock.

"I'm really sorry about that." Teriko apologized in embarrassment.

They were sitting on beds that stood beside each other in a well furnished, but comfortable room. The girls sat on one bed, the boys on the other.

"No it's alright." The boy said with a bitter smile. "It has happened before, I'm just glad nobody forgets it." He noticed Cress studying him, and tilted his head. "What is it?" He asked self-consciously. She shook her head. "Nothing, just wondering how you can look like that." She said with a grin. (Something's off with him, probably just me.) The boy flinched, then smiled in amusement. "How come you look like a guy?" He countered. (Why do I feel…deja vu?)

"Hey, don't go there!" Cress feigned offense.

"No, seriously. How are you so tall?"

Then there were knocks on the door, and Miss Hill looked in. "Winton, it's time to clean up the rooms." She informed, and walked away. Winton got up and went after her. "Winton?" Teriko questioned. The pretty boy chuckled. "For the record, yes that is my name. Don't ask me why." Teriko grinned. "Well, I'm Teriko." He said, then gestured to Cress and Mai. "That's Cress and Mai, nice to meet you." Winton nodded at them. "Same here. I'll bring food here later, bye." Then he was out the door, leaving the trio looking after it as it shut.

Cress's words summed it up. "That was certainly a memorable meeting." The other two nodded in agreement. "I've never seen somebody with blue hair before." Teriko said curiously. "Oh yeah!" Cress said with a snap of her fingers. "He's a Nymph, that's their unique characteristic. Although, you never see a boy doing housekeeping."

Teriko remembered seeing some of them setting up some music in Castle Town, with a woman practicing dancing. "Are they musicians and dancers?" He asked. "Correct." Mai confirmed. "I actually met a troupe on one of my travels." She sighed wistfully. "Their music, it's outstanding, and their dances are so amazing."

"I'll have to see one those, they sound wonderful."

Winton came by a few hours later, bringing a tray of food with him. They were surprised when he sat down.

"I'm on break now, I can talk with you guys." He said. So the trio told him the things that happened the day before, and he was speechless until the end. "I can't believe it." He said in amazement. "A Dragoon, one really fought alongside you?"

Cress thought about it. "I wouldn't say 'alongside', but he was there." She confirmed. "He's not really a social fellow." Teriko nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and he's scary the first time you meet him. But he seems like a nice enough guy, just kinda…dark." He added.

"That must have been horrible, what you went through that day." Winton said in concern. "Getting into a fight like that, it must have been tough." Cress just shrugged. "Hey, that's just what Hunters do, my friend." She said. "You can't go a day without some form of violence."

"But…I really don't want to fight. It hurts people, and cries of pain….they get to me." He shook his head.

She sighed. "Think what you want, but you might regret it. I know I couldn't have made my friends years ago if I didn't get into a fight."

"Y-you actually joined a fight? You couldn't have just talked it out?"

"Pfft, the guy had my future friend in a headlock, do you think that could be talked out?"

"Guys!" Teriko cut in. "Cut it out, we all have our own opinions. But Winton, you're going to have to solve a problem with a fight. It will happen, even if you don't want it to." Winton sighed sadly. "It's just that…I want a better way to solve a problem, and not just because of the pain."

Mai's ears ticked. "What do you mean?" She asked. He got up and walked to the door. "You probably didn't notice it, so let me show you." He said.

"What happened here?" Teriko asked.

They stood in front of a house, whose side had been fixed by a man sized board . The trio knew something had happened, and it must have been eventful.

"I happened." Winton admitted. Teriko and Mai stepped back in surprise while Cress raised and eyebrow. "You? You're kidding right?" She asked. "A skinny, girlish looking Nymph like you? You must be joking." She chuckled, then noticed he hadn't changed his expression. "You're serious. How did you do that?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "These two guys…they were arguing over money, and I tried to talk them out of it." He explained. "They turned on me instead, and I tried to avoid hurting them. Then I slipped up, and one of them nearly had me." He put his head down shamefully. "I panicked, and a fraction of my strength was let out. The one I punched was knocked into the other, and they crashed through the wall."

He seemed so anguished, Teriko went up and patted him on the back, and Cress followed suit. "Hey, it's not your fault." Teriko assured. "It was just self-defense, that's not the same as going into a fight."

"Yeah." Cress said. "There's a difference between the two." Then she turned back to the house. "But wow, you would have to be a Dwarf to knock two guys hard enough to do this damage, just who are you're parents?"

"It's obvious who my mom is, but my dad is a Human." Winton replied. Teriko held his head. "He's another hybrid?" He asked in confusion. "Doesn't seem so strange, when we already met some." Mai said thoughtfully.

"Still, with your strength, it's easy to why you don't want to fight." Cress said. "You're afraid of it, as well as the things you could do with it. You have the potential to kill a normal person with a single blow, yet you do your best to keep your power in check."

Winton confirmed that with a nod. "Now you see why, so why can't I find a better way?" He asked. "I want to solve problems with words. With a little psychology, you can turn a foe into a friend. "

Cress sighed and crossed her arms. "But these days, actions speak louder than words." She countered.

Teriko had stepped away from the conversation, listening to it sadly. "It's kind of hard to decide, when you want a good way to end things." He admitted. Then they heard shouting on the other side, and they looked around the corner to see a the townspeople gathered near the village entrance. They ran to the commotion and stood at the back of the crowd.

At the entrance, a few dozen men were facing the people, armed with maces and swords. They came in different physiques, but all of them looked like hardened criminals. A man on horseback was in front of them, grinning down at them wickedly. He had scruffy black hair, a well built look

"People of Everest!" He announced. "You've slept in you're comfortable beds, having little fear of the outside." He raised his hand high and clenched it. "But now, your peace is over! We will burn this town to the ground, and it will be no more!" The crowd screamed and yelled in fright. Teriko and Cress glared at the man, while Winton shook from the fear and Mai hid behind them.

"However," The man continued. "There is a way to save the whole town. You can leave one young lady meet us at this spot, and we will take her. No harm will come to you or this town, and we will never bother you again! We swear this to the gods themselves!" The crowd looked at each other uncertainly and muttered.

"I know, it is a hard decision to make." The man admitted. "So we will camp out a short distance away, and wait until dark for your decision. If the lady isn't there, we will destroy this town!" He turned his horse to the rest of the men. "Move out!" He ordered.

They all walked away, leaving the people to make their choice.


	20. Under Cover

Author's Note: viewer warning. As this and the next chapter will be dealing with a situation that I'm sure some of you have been through, it is my responsibility to warn you. If you have been through, or have a friend who has been through rape, you can skip this chapter and the next one. While it won't be shown, it is implied that it happened, and might make you uncomfortable. So without further ado, let's start the chapter, and I hope it satisfies.

Edit: The next chapter wasn't as bad as Iinitially thought of, so sorry about that. You can go ahead and read safely, if still kinda uncomfortably. PS: One thing I forgot to mention was that I'm doing this in Volumes. This is the first Volume, and I'm setting up for the finale.

That night, a young woman approached the entrance to the town.

She wore a navy blue dress that reached her ankles, with a red ribbon attached to her chest, and brown leather shoes. Looking at her face, her sky blue hair was combed tidily, with the bangs rising slightly on opposing sides, so they looked like little wings. Her nervous face was cute and girly, but nothing about it had changed.

It was Winton, dressed up as a girl, and he was having second thoughts.

(Gods and goddesses, this is embarrassing.) He thought to the trio. Their voices appeared in his mind.

(Come on, it's for a noble cause.) Cress thought. (Besides, you look like a complete girl now. A very cute one at that.)

(I agree.) Mai thought. (You're so adorable like this.)

(This is the only way we can save those women.) Teriko's thoughts reminded him. (If you were doing this for something else, then that would be a blow to your manhood.) The he chuckled. (And yes, you are cute.)

Winton composed himself, and nodded. "I can do this." He muttered. Then a man on a horse trotted up, with a few men on foot behind him. The gazes they gave him were…very uncomfortable, to say the least.

"They agreed to it after all." The leader said in thought. "And the lady they gave us is mighty fine too, a Nymph as well. Alright men, we at least honor our words, so let's take her to our hideout."

"Hurrah!" They shouted. The men got behind Winton and tied his hands behind his back. Their leader leaned down, his face coming within inches of Winton's. "What's your name, pretty?" He asked with a creepy grin. Winton shuddered, but still looked him in the eye. "W-Winona." He stammered in a girl's voice. The man chuckled, then sat upright. "Move!" He ordered, and they set out.

(Really Winton? Really?) Teriko criticized. (You couldn't have come up with something original?)

(Hey, I didn't know they would ask for my name.) The cross dresser defended.

(Your voice is just adorable!) Mai squealed.

(I have to admit, I almost fawned over it as well.) Cress agreed.

Winton blushed in embarrassment. (You are never going to let me forget this, are you?)

(No!) They all thought. Winton internally sighed.

Five minutes later, they reached the encampment. The men stationed there turned to them, waiting for the news. Their leader raised his hand. "We have got her!" He announced, then stepped aside to reveal Winton. The men cheered, bumping chests and fists.

"Another Nymph!"

"We really lucked out!"

"It was worth enduring the hunger from last night!"

One man in a fox cap ran up to the leader. "Sir, our men have also got a girl, and not just anyone." The leader looked perplexed and beckoned the men to follow him.

In the center of the camp, a girl was tied up and sitting on the ground, glaring at them. Despite that, Winton couldn't help but be mesmerized.

She wore a green tunic that clung to her body, with a white shirt underneath, and it had an open collar. The skirt part was short, but she also had leggings, showing off her legs. Her face was beautiful, with blue eyes and blonde hair that stopped a little below her shoulders. What made her different from people was her ears, which were pointed. Beside her, a one of the men in fox caps was holding a curved blade of silver, with a steel and crimson handguard.

"Well I can't believe it." The leader said in amazement. "The princess of the Elves." Winton gasped. The leader bent down to study the princess, and she leaned back. He got up and spread out his arms with a laugh. "This is the most amazing thing possible!" He announced. "How did you even get her?"

The fox capped man beside Winton smirked. "Remember when we went hungry last night?" He asked. "She was the one who cut our traps, which was why we didn't strike Everest then." He chuckled. "So we set up more traps and stationed men at each one. So when she tried it again, we got the jump on her."

The leader shook his head in amusement, then leaned down and picked up the Elf girl's chin. "You're in our hands now, darling." He whispered. "Don't expect Daddy to come rescue you. Even if he is a hero, he doesn't know where we will be."

"I'm more than a pretty face." She retorted. "I'm not about to give you my body, you sick bandits."

He laughed in response. "You won't be giving it to us. We're going to take it by force, even if we need a second man to keep you down." The girl's eyes widened in fear.

He smirked, stood up, then turned to his men.

"Alright! Put these girls in the cart and pack up!" He ordered.

For the next few minutes, Winton couldn't look at the princess. All he could do was glance nervously at her, not knowing what to say. She was glaring downward, as if she was ignoring him. Then Cress's voice made him gasp, making the Elf look at him curiously.

(You have so got your eyes on her.) The Hunter teased. Winton blushed at the statement.

(Don't make fun of me!) He retorted.

(Hey, I'm just saying nice going. From your thoughts, I can see she is quite the looker. She isn't some generic princess either. Good for you.)

(Well…thanks. What are you doing?)

(Teriko and Mai are contacting our friends from Castle Town. Hopefully, they'll show up with the guards.)

(OK, but…could you leave me alone? I want to try talking with her.) When he didn't hear a response, he sighed in relief.

"Are you OK?" He turned his head to see the princess looking at him in concern. His face grew red again. He looked down, shaking from the nervousness. Finally, he spoke up.

"I-it's just…scary." He stammered, using his girl voice. "I never thought this would happen." The princess sighed sadly.

"Me neither." She agreed. "I was just trying to prevent the kidnappings, I didn't expect myself to be caught." She glanced at Winston's legs. "You're wearing pants, under a dress."

Winton was at least prepared for that. "It's just for modesty, I'm really careful with that." His eyes couldn't help but look at the Elf's clothing, making his face even redder. "Unlike yourself, with that skirt and tight clothing."

She blushed, covering herself. "Th-that's because anything else would restrict my movement!" She defended. "You try running in that dress, see how slow you are!"

He waved his hands hastily. "I get the point, I get the point." He looked down shyly, putting his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I suppose I had it coming." She gave a small laugh. "It's funny, we're about to be taken, in all sense of the word, and we're talking about how we dress."

He also laughed, and they remained silent for a few seconds. Then Winton drew a shaky breath, and looked at the princess.

"My name's Winona." He said. "What's yours?"

She returned the look, and smiled. "I'm Lyra, nice to meet you." She responded.

Then the men finished packing. They gathered around the cart and stood to attention while their leader rode up to the front. He looked around, making sure everything was in order, then he pointed forward. "Alright everyone, move out!" He ordered.

The the Elf and the Nymph were silent all the way through the ride.


	21. Break Out

After an hour, they reached the mountains, and the prisoners were taken out of the cart. Their captors hid it, then the climb started. There was a notable slowness in the walking of the leader's horse, which delayed their arrival to the hideout.

Winton figured that would make it easier for his friends to catch up. He also took note of the walkways that connected the mountains, and the curves around them.

After an hour and a half, they reached their destination. Winton couldn't help but let out a surprised gasp.

They were standing on a formation of rock that offered more than enough room for them to gather on. The gusts of wind were pleasantly cool, and were gentle. Stars stretched out, closer than ever, their lights twinkling in the night sky. Built into the mountains, there was a building that looked like a bar.

"Well…at least they have good taste in location." Winton pointed out. Lyra sighed. "Well, I can't argue with that." She agreed begrudgingly.

The leader grinned devilishly. "We're not so cruel as to not give women a nice view. Now get inside."

It definitely was a bar, complete with a bouncer behind the counter. He was dark skinned, and looked like he could take on every man in the group by himself. The criminals were definitely intimidated by him, all except for their leader, who casually walked up to the big guy with a hand raised in greeting.

"Bruno!" The he said with a grin.

"Casus." He simply acknowledged. Then he looked over to see Winton and Lyra. "Another successful strike?"

Casus laughed. "The best of them all! See that Elf there? She's their princess! My trappers got the jump on her!"

The bouncer sighed. "Casus, if you keep this up you're going to get caught and sent to Hell. Why do you do it? What reason is there to kidnap young women and violate them?"

The leader's grin was wicked. "Because it's what we do." Then he leaned close to Bruno. "What about you? Why did you stay here if you weren't going to do anything at all? All you do is make our drinks and guard our doors."

Bruno was silent for a moment. "I wanted to meet a woman, get to know her. That's just about what every normal man wants."

"You know damn well why you can't have that. To even think of it goes against our nature." His tone menacing. "Do you think women will accept you, once they find out who you are? What we're doing is what we're supposed to do, including you. Tell you what, you can have those two for yourself once we're all done. They'll be locked up until you arrive, how does that sound?"

Lyra watched with wide eyes, waiting for an answer, while Winton was perplexed. ( Just…who are these people?) Winton thought.

"…I'll have them." Bruno answered.

They walked through a tunnel, passing by several metal doors.

While the tunnel was roomy, it didn't make the situation easier on Winton. With each room they neared, the men around them would pick out someone to enter them. When the guy opened the door, Winton would look away in fear. That didn't stop the screams.

"Get away from me!"

"Please, not again!"

"Just let me go!"

When the door to their room was shut and locked, he fell to his knees.

(How…how can they? This is wrong. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. I can't this, it's too much for me to handle.) He stood up shakily, only to fall over and be caught by Lyra.

"I-it's alright." She said with false confidence. "We'll get out of here, I'm sure of it." Then her eyes started to water, and she sobbed. Winton's fear was replaced with worry, and he helped her get to the bed.

They got on it and leaned against the wall, side by side. After a few minutes, the princess's crying slowly faded away, and she wiped away her tears with her hand. "I'm sorry." She said. "It's just that…I never saw this happening to me."

"It's alright." The cross dresser assured. "I'm as horrified as you are." He looked down sadly. "I'm just wondering how men could be like this."

"As that guy said, it's what they do." Her tone had a hint of disgust. "Those perverts, they're not men at all."

"More like…beasts." That made him think of something.

"Exactly."

Pained screams echoed from the neighboring room, making Lyra clench her fist. "Horrible, I don't even want to think about what's happening in there." Then a horrifying thought entered Winton's mind, making his eyes wide.

(Oh gods and goddesses…)"Something's not right, and it's not this."

Lyra looked alert. "What do you mean?"

"When I said beasts, I immediately thought about the monsters that have been appearing recently." He explained. "Around the mountains, that's where they most often appear. However, during our trip over here, not one thing attacked us. Isn't that strange?"

"You're right. That seemed a little off to me too." She agreed.

"Then there was that conversation between those men. They talked like they weren't human at all, which seemed strange. It just led me to a horrifying thought."

She realized what he was trying to tell her, and her face was a mix of revulsion and fear. "You mean…these men….they're…"

"Monsters…yes."

They immediately got off the bed and headed for the door. Lyra frantically tried turning the knob, to no avail. When it didn't work, she stomped on the floor.

"What are we going to do?" She asked. "We're trapped in here, with a monster coming over here to…to…" Then her eyes widened at the thought.

She shook her head. "I don't even want to think about what their true selves are."

Winton was looking at her sadly. (What can we do? Even if my friends get here, they'll be to weak to take the monsters on. Wait a minute…) He looked at his hand. (Weak…that's not me. Maybe I can get us out of here. But I need to let her know.) He tapped the princess's shoulder, getting her attention.

"I have to tell you something." He said.

"What is it?"

"I have some friends that I met today." He explained. "They're Hunters, and they had me volunteer to be a prisoner. They're going to rescue every woman here. They're tracking me as we speak, and they should be here soon, along with some guards."

Lyra was skeptical. "So our freedom depends on if they can get here in time? Even if they arrive, it'll be too late. The way over here is tricky."

Winton smiled bitterly. "That's where we come in. We're going to cause a ruckus loud enough to draw my friends in."

"How are we going to do that? We're locked in here, remember?"

Winton was hesitant. He didn't want to scare her. (I have to tell her about my strength. ) He looked down shamefully. "To be honest, I'm…not any ordinary Nymph."

Lyra looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I'll be easier to show you."

He studied the door, which was made of iron, and summoned his gauntlets. Lyra gasped in surprise. "W-what are you doing?" She asked nervously.

Winton breathed deeply, drew his fist back, then let loose all of his strength in one, titanic punch. There was a loud 'CRASH!' as the door was snapped off its hinges, crashing into the wall ahead and cracking it. The door fell forward, and laid on the floor.

Winton slowly turned around and checked Lyra's expression. She was shocked, and a little scared. "Did…you just…how?"

"That's what I would like to know." A deep voice said, startling them.

Walking from the left of the room's opening, was the bouncer from earlier, Bruno. His arms were crossed, and he was looking down at them with a raised eyebrow. Compared to his size, the two captives were children. They stepped back, afraid of what he might do.

"Don't be afraid." Bruno assured. "I came here to help you."

"Why should we believe you?" Lyra asked angrily. "You work for the creeps! You even agreed to have your way with us! We even figured it out, you're monsters!"

"Please," He begged. "That was just a lie! I was going to free you and the rest of the women! I'm against violating women for my personal pleasure! I just want a woman to love and accept me! Trust me, please!"

Winton thought about the bouncer's conversation with Casus. He didn't seem to like what his leader was doing, and even questioned it. (He's a nice guy. All he wants is to be happy with someone he loves, and loves him back.) "Even if you are a monster, you deserve to love and be loved." Winton said sincerely.

Brutus looked grateful, while Lyra was shocked. "How can you agree to this?" She asked.

"Because he's different from the others." Winton replied. "I know he's telling the truth. The question is: Do you trust him?"

Lyra was silent and Winton was afraid she wouldn't agree to the help. Then she nodded with a determined look. "I'm in. If you can put your trust in him, then I will also. Before we escape, we need to get my sword. I never go anywhere without it." Brutus sighed in relief, then grew serious.

"I know where they're holding it." He said while holding up a ring with three keys. "Everyone else is locked up in the boss's office, on the pretense of a 'celebration party'. Now let's break out."


	22. Not Alone

"Looks like we got a change of plans." Winton said as he dismissed his weapons. They went from door to door, unlocking them and freeing the women trapped inside. Whatever happiness they lost was returned as they followed the trio to their freedom. They were worn out and their dresses were torn, but they didn't care. One of them was a Nymph like Winton, making an unknown feeling spark within him. It faded just as quickly.

"Thank you for saving us!" She exclaimed. "My troupe must be so worried about me! Once I get back to them, I'll reward you by singing at your village of residence, with you coming up on stage!" When Lyra grew skittish, the singer laughed. "Really Princess, it's not like you have to sing. Unless you want to."

Then they burst into the bar, where banging and shouts could be heard at the right side of the counter. "They'll be out soon." Bruno warned. "Let's get your sword and hurry out of here." Then he jumped over the counter and ducked beneath it. He pulled out a wooden case and unlocked it. Inside was the sword Winton had seen earlier at the camp.

Bruno held up the weapon, and Lyra thrust her hand towards it. It disappeared and reappeared in Lyra's hand in flashes of light. Bruno went back to the duo's side side, and they stayed behind to herd everyone to the exit. Once the all the women were out the door, the trio headed for the door.

Then there was a "Bang!" as the door to the boss's room was broken off its hinges and knocked down, revealing a very angry Casus and his men behind him.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" He asked. He and his men rushed out the door and formed a crescent around the trio. Lyra and Bruno looked at them apprehensively, while Winton looked a little afraid.

"Gods and goddesses, this is bad, what are we going to do?" He asked worriedly.

Lyra scowled and readied her sword. "We're going to have to fight, we can't let them catch up."

Bruno was silent for moment, which prompted Winton to look at him. "Bruno?" He asked.

The big guy stepped forward and thrust his arms out protectively. "You go, I'll fight them!" He declared.

The Elf and the Nymph gasped in surprise. "You can't do that!" Winton protested. "You have something to live for, don't you?"

"What happened to finding a woman and having a happy life?" Lyra added.

A maniacal laugh made the two flinch. "Oh come on!" Casus said. "He knows just as well as we do that our kind can't be loved, nor were we ever meant to love. Only strike fear, making people cower beneath us."

"Maybe that's it for you guys! But Bruno is different!" Winton argued. "He deserves a happy life for not following your nature!"

Casus laughed some more. "Have you ever heard of us pretty? Maybe not, it's only been told, not written. Our story starts during the battle with Titan centuries before. We were part of the army sent to eradicate the kingdom. When the monsters were sealed away, we managed to escape, and we settled here in the mountains, waiting for a sign from our master." Then he grinned wickedly. "That's when we realized he didn't make us like even the elites among the creatures."

Winton stepped back a little. "What do you mean?"

"From time to time, we would attack a traveller wandering around the land." The leader explained. "We soon discovered that we could transform into humans ourselves, taking any form we liked. Then one day, a woman happened upon us, and it kindled a feeling within us, a desire beyond our comprehension. We jumped her, and soon found the need for the act that came afterward."

Lyra was visibly disgusted. "You…are sickest monsters I have ever met!" Then her eyes widened. "I've heard about this! My father told me about monsters who took the shape of people and preyed on women. Your kind…what is your kind?"

Casus chuckled. "We are Changelings!" He answered with arms spread wide. "We were the most feared monsters to women across the land. Then your daddy and his friends tried hunting us down, forcing us to hide again, until recently. We needed a safer method to go about our business, so we decided to do this." Then he glared at Bruno. "The only one hasn't done our acts, even from back then, was this one right here."

Bruno returned the glare. "I never wanted to do those things, I disliked what you did. This was the final straw."

Winton shook his head. "Then why can't he find love?" He asked. "He deserves it for turning his back on you!"

That brought a smirk from Casus. "Because once they find out what he is, it won't matter how noble he is. They'll run away in fear, like they're supposed to." When the cross dresser and the princess stepped beside the Bruno, the leader growled.

"Fine then, I'll show you!" He said menacingly. "You do the same, men!" Then he and the men encircling the trio started to be shrouded by darkness. They're shapes changed, becoming monstrous and bigger, growling as the transformation ended.

Lyra and Winton's eyes widened in fear at the true demons before them.

They're faces were black and wolf-like, with eyes glowing red. They're limbs were thick, with big hands and feet, and razor sharp claws. They're bodies stood tall and menacing, reaching Bruno's height. "Do you believe me now?" Casus asked angrily. "Do you see why he can't be loved? He'll never be accepted, ever!"

Winton couldn't find anything to say, he was too scared. Then Bruno held his shoulder, making him look up in surprise.

"I suppose I will have to accept that." Bruno admitted sadly. "No one can ever love someone like me." He pushed Lyra and Winton away, making them stumble back. Then he transformed into his true self. He looked back at them with a snarl.

"Go! I'll take care of them!" He said.

"Bruno!" Winton tried to step forward, but Lyra pulled him back. "There's nothing we can do." Lyra said, though she looked reluctant as well. "We have to go!" Winton hesitated, then nodded reluctantly, and they ran out the door, leaving Bruno with the other Changelings.

They stared each other down, growling at each other.

"You're such a disappointment." Casus said in hatred. "If our master returns, he's not going to be pleased."

"I don't care for this life." Bruno stated. "If I die, then I'll at least take you guys with me."

Casus huffed. "You really are a stubborn one, aren't you? The odds are against you, yet you insist on holding your ground. Fine then, we'll send you to oblivion!" He pointed a claw at the bouncer. "Get him men!" They all roared and lunged at Bruno.

They hadn't even gotten far before Winton stopped in his tracks, feeling guilty about leaving their new friend behind. Lyra immediately stopped and looked back urgently. "Come on!" She beckoned. "We have to move!"

Winton looked back at the way they came, then at the princess, conflicted. (I can't leave Bruno behind, but I don't want his sacrifice to be in vain. But he wanted a happy life, I don't want him lose that because of us…then there's my problem with fighting.) Then he remembered the link, and sent his thoughts out. (Cress! Where are you?)

The Hunter's voice immediately responded. (About time! I was wondering if something bad happened. We borrowed some horses and are ridding as fast as they can allow. We'll be at the mountains soon, then we'll have to run up.)

(Any others on the way?)

(Our friends are heading there too, we'll be there as soon as we can. What's your condition?)

(One of the men actually turned against the others. He was against their activities since the beginning, and never participated. And…the men are actually…just see for yourself) Then he sent a mental picture of the monsters.

(Sick…sick…so very sick.) Cress's anger was very apparent. (I am going to kill them all!)

(Speaking of that…) Winton carefully thought out his message. (The traitor, he's fighting them right now to let us escape, but he has something to live for. That's why…I'm going back to fight beside him.)

(W-what?) Cress was definitely surprised. (But you know how you are! Aren't you afraid of how this will affect you? You can't possibly do this!)

(I know! But I don't want him to lose his chance at happiness because of me!)

Cress was silent for a few seconds, then she sighed. (OK…but I'm worried, this could have a serious effect on you.) Then her temper flared up. (We'll be there as soon as we can, just hold on! We're going to teach those sick ba-) Winton internally cringed at the cuss word. (A lesson for messing with a woman's body! See ya in the fight!) With that, her thoughts withdrew.

Winton sighed, then met Lyra's gaze. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave him behind." He said with a shake of his head, then he ran back the way they came.

"Winona!" Lyra called out. "What are you doing? Get back here!"

"Rah!" Bruno shouted as he knocked away another Changeling. It yelped in pain and crashed into a few others, but they got up seconds after that. Ten more jumped on Bruno, pilling on him. He fell to his knees, but he stood up and shook them off, roaring in defiance. They scattered around hitting the walls and ceiling. Another landed a hit on his chest, but he retaliated by gutting it with his claws, making it fade into dark smoke. He panted, starting to get tired. The scratch he took left a gash across his chest.

Casus laughed. "Face it Bruno, you're outnumbered! You might be stronger, but you can't hold out against all of us alone!"

"Then I'll help him!"

Bruno turned around to see a Changeling fall on its back, unconscious. Standing over it was Winton, gauntlets equipped, with a determined look on his face. "What are you doing here?" The bouncer asked angrily. "I told you to leave!"

Winton ran over to him so they could stand in front of each other, and looked down. "I couldn't let you fight by yourself." He answered. "I want you to experience a new life."

Casus laughed. "You're going to fight, are you kidding me?" He asked jokingly. "You're just a scrawny girl."

"Oh!" Winton realized he had been speaking in his girl voice the whole time. "Heh heh…yeah, about that…" Then he grabbed the ribbon on his chest and untied it.

It fell to the ground, and the dress became loose on the front. Winton grabbed it, then took it off with a flourish, revealing his usual attire. This prompted confused looks from everyone around him, but he wasn't finished. He pushed down his bangs, then swept them to the left side, putting back in its original position. "Wait a minute…" Casus's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-you're a…"

"That's right, I'm a guy!" Winton announced in his real voice.

"Whaaaaaat!" Every Changeling in the room shouted. A one of them even fainted from the shock, and his buddies helped him get up. Then there were word all around as they all tried to process the situation.

"How did he do that?"

"Well, he does look like a girl."

"Still, you think we would've noticed."

"Now that I think about it, he did smell a bit unusual."

Winton looked at all of them, then sighed in relief. "For a second there, I thought there was going to be an outrage. This has to be the most confusing thing for them." He said to Bruno.

"I'm just as shocked myself." The bouncer admitted. "No man would ever do such a thing."

"You're a guy?" They turned to see a surprised Lyra standing at the doorway. She walked over to them, holding a hand on her head. "Why…just why would you do this?"

"Um.." Winton shifted uncomfortably. "You see-" Lyra held up a hand, and he shut up.

"Now's not the time for this." She said, then she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Once all of this is over, then we can talk."

"So you came as well?" Bruno asked once she was finished.

"Couldn't leave a friend behind." The princess replied, looking a Winton knowingly. The Nymph grinned sheepishly.

"Are you done?" Casus asked impatiently. They all turned their attention to him as the Changelings recovered from their shock. They growled angrily, baring their teeth.

"Looks like you're mad Casus." Bruno said in amusement.

"Mad? I'm absolutely infuriated!" Casus said angrily. "I could tolerate you're disobedience, I was mad at you for turning on us, but this…" He pointed at Winton, who backed off in fright. "Is the last straw! Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out you've had a trap with you the whole time? To be tricked like this is humiliating!" He let out a roar that shook the floor. He pointed at Lyra, who readied her sword defensively. "To make it all worse, I had the Elven Princess at our mercy. I looked forward to seeing her squirm and scream while in my grasp."

Then he glared at the trio, who readied themselves for the fight. "I will not let anyone ruin the fun we had so easily! Prepare yourselves you rebels, because we will not go easy on you! And when you two guys are dead, we can take the lady for ourselves."

Lyra scowled. "I am not going to be one of your objects!"

"I'm sorry that I got you into this." Winton apologized.

"I'm not holding it against you, but I'm not happy with you either."

"Thank you, friends." Bruno said. "If I die here, at least I know I had you by my side."

"We'll make sure you live." Winton assured. "And what happens afterward, we can talk about later."

"We'll see." Then the bouncer growled. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" They replied, although Winton sounded a little scared.

"Then fight!"

"Get them men!" Casus ordered.

Everyone shouted and charged forward, and the battle started to unfold.


	23. Ties

Author's note: So here it is, the final chapter of Volume 1! I'm sorry for the long months it took for this to come out, but I've redone it until I was sure it would be good. I'm working on the trailer for Volume 2, and hopefully it won't take as long. So without further ado, let's get started! (Edit: The Trailer for Volume 2 is out already! I kept it short, but it should still have some suspense. Just look on my page for it!)

For a while, Winton thought they could actually pull it off.

Bruno was a savage beast, quickly clawing and crushing his opponents into oblivion with brute strength. Of course, Winton didn't think it was a pleasant way to go out, but he understood that these monsters deserved their punishment.

That still didn't erase all the guilt he felt as he struck down another Changeling with a punch to the gut. As it went down, two more came and clawed at him. On instinct, he jumped and twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding the claws. Then he flipped and brought his heel crashing down on one, and as it collapsed, he took care of the other one with a kick to the face. Winton whispered a quick apology before turning his attention to Lyra.

She and her sword were a green and silver blur. With graceful movements, she cut down any beast that would come close, and they all turned into smoke. One would try to grab her, then she was suddenly beside it and flipping backward for a slash. Another took a swipe, and she quickly stepped back and countered with a series of stabs. It entranced Winton, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

That's when things started to fall apart.

He felt something grab his ankle, and he yelped as he was lifted up. He found himself upside down, and he twisted around to find out that a Changeling had grabbed him. Winton realized just how idiotic it was to district yourself in the middle of a fight.

"I got to pay attention next time." He reminded himself.

He yelled as he was thrown across the room, straight at Lyra. The princess heard him and turned around, but had no time to get out of the way. They collided, and fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

"Sorry." Winton groaned.

Then they were lifted up and held in the thick arms of their captors. They wiggled around to break free, but to no avail. The monsters had too much strength in their grip for them to match.

"Let me go!" Lyra shouted.

The commotion caught Bruno's attention, and he turned to them after quickly slicing another monster to bits. When he saw the duo captured, he snarled and started to charge at them. However, he stopped when they whipped out their claws and raised them. He got the message.

One more step, and they die.

"How sad is this?" Casus gloated. "Despite your best efforts, we still beat you! You're so called friends are right there, trapped, and you can't do anything!"

"I will kill you all!" Bruno threatened.

"And for what? Strike us, and they die! Are you really going to sacrifice them in order take your revenge?"

When Bruno didn't answer, Casus smirked.

"We'll give you two choices: Kill us all, and they die. Stand down, and we'll let them go free. We won't bother them again. What will it be?"

"Bruno! Don't do it!" Winton shouted.

"Just focus on the enemy, forget us!" Lyra added.

Bruno clenched his fists, and remained silent. Then, after a moment, he was surround by darkness and returned to his human form. He fell to his knees, and looked down, eyes hidden by shadows. Casus laughed and walked over to stand in front of him, looking down with a triumphant look.

"You really are pathetic, you know that?" Casus said. "Where is that rage I saw just moments ago?"

Bruno looked up at him, eyes narrowed, but showed no signs of wanting to fight.

Casus scoffed. "I expected more from you. Here you are, the strongest Changeling of all, and what do you do? Betray us, and free weeks worth of work from their cells! Then you have the nerve to fight beside the princess and this…pretty boy, and try to take us out! But you know what made you fail in the end? You're overly sympathetic heart and this boy's stupidity!"

Winton hung his head in shame upon hearing that.

"You know what never change about the world?" Casus continued. "Our destinies! We always come into this world alone, and we die the same way! That wouldn't have changed for you, even if you had saved these rats!" He raised his claw high and snarled at Bruno. "That will always be your destiny! To live alone and die alone! And I will end your miserable life! See you in oblivion, traitor!"

"No!" Winton protested.

He shut his eyes as Casus swung down. His friend was about to die, and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Then a miracle came in the form of a red object sailing through the air.

It sped past a few Changelings before finally finding its target, which was close to striking Bruno. Casus screamed in pain and held his arm, which was leaking dark smoke from where his hand used to be. Everyone looked at the attacker's weapon, which was embedded in the wall. It was a blood-red spear, and it disappeared in a flash of light.

"Who did this?" Casus asked angrily, wincing.

That would be us, bastard!"

Everyone turned to the doorway to see a girl in a brown tunic and a boy with black wings in dragon-like armor, who Winton realized was a Dragoon. The boy, had the spear in his hand, and a stoic expression, while the girl was unarmed, but sporting a glare that made the Changelings cringe. The duo walked in to the bar, and the monsters stepped back warily.

"Attention all monsters!" Cress announced grin. "As of today, all of you are being charged for the imprisonment of young women! I, Cress of the Hunters of Yggdrasil, am in charge of this operation. As such, it is my job to decide the punishment. Do you want to know what that is?"

She held out her arms, and her crossbows appeared in a flash of light. She tilted her head down, hiding her face, and she started chuckling, which continued to the point of full-blown laughter. Then she lifted her head to reveal a grin that showed more menace than playfulness.

"You're punishment is death!" She finished.

Winton's eyes widened, for he noticed the change in her attitude. What he thought was a girl that liked to help people and have fun, was also someone who would punish people if they committed crimes and liked the heat of battle just as much as hanging out with her friends.

"Who…is she?" Lyra asked with a hint of fear.

"That's one of the friends I mentioned." Winton answered. "I didn't know she could be so scary."

It seemed like every Changeling in the room agreed with him, since they started backing away with cautious looks. Whatever was going to happen to them, Winton had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty.

"Ken, are you with me?" Cress asked the boy.

Ken pointed his spear forward. "Let's just get this over with." He said in a monotone.

They slowly approached the gathering group of creatures, who were too afraid to make a move. Casus looked at all of them with a snarl, then at the duo in front of them.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked angrily. "Get them!"

After a second of hesitation, two of them charged and swung at the Hunters. Ken blocked the first strike while Cress sidestepped the other, then they pulled their attackers close. Cress shoved her crossbow under her opponent's chin, and brought her face close to it.

"Bad dog." She said before pulling the trigger.

One.

Two.

Three shots went through the monster's skull, and she pushed it away from her. It fell to the floor with a heavy thud, and faded into smoke. As that happened, Ken charged his spear with electricity and stabbed the other Changeling in the abdomen. It gave a roar of pain as it was shocked, and then stayed still.

After a few seconds, it fell to its side and faded away.

"That was brutal." Winton stated with a wince.

"Yeah." Lyra agreed. "And there's more where that came from."

Cress looked around at the group with a frown, then stepped towards them. They flinched, but held their ground.

"Well, come on!" She said impatiently. "Who's next?" When they didn't answer, she sighed. "You are so pathetic! You're beasts! Show me some of that rage and come at us! I'm looking forward to killing the little bugs that you are!"

This caused the intended reaction, because they growled and roared in unison. Casus was angry enough to claw one of his own men to shreds.

"You listen hear miss!" He said furiously. "You can't just come in here, kill two of my brethren, and insult us like that!" He stepped to the front of the group. "In the end, you are just a puny little girl and her pet dragon-boy who are going to face the consequences of their actions!"

"Consequences be damned!" Cress said boldly.

"Uh…Cress, I think you're in over your head!" Winton said with worry.

Casus chuckled. "He's right," He pointed out. "You've gone over the edge!" He pointed at Cress and Ken. "Get them boys!"

The entire group charged at them, and Cress turned her crossbows into arm cannons. She quickly aimed at the force and fired, causing some of the monsters to disintegrate from the explosion. The rest reached them, but Cress jumped back and switched to her crossbows. One took a swipe at Ken, but he dodged and retaliated by jumping up and thrusting forward, impaling the spear in the creatures neck. As it fell over, two more flanked him, and tried to get him in between their claws. He twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding the attack, and came down onto one's head, piercing it's skull. Then he summoned lightning to fry any foes who tried to come close.

Meanwhile, Cress found herself surrounded by several Changelings. All of them were growling at her, teeth bared. Despite the odds, she laughed.

"This is gonna be fun!" She said happily, twirling her crossbows.

They attacked together, coordinating their slashes to tear her to shreds. She ducked, weaved, and jumped through every attack, laughing all the while. Finding an opening in one monster's attack, she jumped on it and swung on to it's shoulders. Taking advantage of the confusion, she brought out a leather strap, and tied it around the back of the creature's jaws, where the teeth wouldn't cut it. Then she yanked the strap hard, pulling it's head back, and leaned into it's ear.

"You let me lead." She said, shoving a crossbow into the side of it's head. "Or I will end you now."

The Changeling huffed, but nodded, and Cress laughed once more, raising holding her crossbow high.

"Yeeehaw!" She shouted, and her mount roared with her.

Together, they charged through the rest of the enemies, knocking them over. As her mount slashed it's former comrades, Cress fired bolts of energy at the others. They were a force to be reckoned with, striking fear into their enemies. The room was soon filled with dark smoke all over.

Casus couldn't believe his eyes. "What is this?" He asked with a mixture of surprise and anger. "No one has ever done that!"

Winton and Lyra, who had been dropped by their captors, were only a little startled. "Why do I get the feeling she does this quite often?" Winton wondered.

"At this rate, I'll be surprised if she isn't a big risk taker." Lyra stated with a shake of her head.

As the thinning ranks of Changelings fell to the rampage of the Hunter and her mount, Ken dispatched the last one with a slash, then an uppercut, and it fell back. Only Casus remained standing, unable to fight. Everyone surrounded him, weapon's drawn and aimed at him.

"Say your prayers, because you're about to die." Cress said.

Before she could pull the trigger, however, Bruno stepped in front of her. "Wait, I want to finish him." He said.

Cress nodded in understanding and pulled beckoned her Changeling to step back. The rest did so as well, leaving Bruno to stand alone with his former boss.

"So you finally have the guts to kill me?" Casus asked. "When I can't even fight back? I was right, you are coward."

Bruno transformed into a beast, and raised his claws.

"Go ahead! Kill me for all it's worth!" Casus continued. "It's not going to change the fact that everyone will reject you for who you are! You're going to die alone! Just like every living being!"

Bruno roared and struck. He tore at Casus's body until nothing but smoke was left, then he stopped. Breathing heavily, he transformed back into a human, then he turned around to see everyone's reactions.

Winton had one eye shut tight, with the other one wincing, while Lyra was covering her mouth. Cress and her mount had their mouths hanging open. Even Ken had his head cocked to one side.

Bruno looked down shamefully. "Sorry." He said.

After a lot of backtracking, everyone was back to the bottom of the mountain, where they found the young women talking as they waited for them. They all noticed them, and they cheered. Winton raised a hand sheepishly, while Lyra bowed her head. Three people made their way through the crowd to greet them.

It was Teriko and Mai, who awkwardly introduced themselves to Lyra when they found out she was a princess. Then there was an Angel Winton had never seen before, who greeted Lyra kindly, and she in turn. His name was Lee, and he introduced himself to Winton next.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Winton." Winton responded.

When Ken approached, Lee was already fretting over him, asking if he was alright. Seeing Winton's questioning look, Lee explained that he and Ken were brothers. Then he saw Bruno and immediately started exchanging introductions. Winton thought he was the friendliest boy there ever was.

When Teriko and Mai saw what Cress was riding, they freaked out.

"What is that?" Teriko asked with a hint of fear.

"This is my new ride." Cress said with a grin. "Isn't he a sweetheart?" She scratched it's chin, and it let out a content sigh.

"You surprise us everyday Cress." Mai stated with small laugh.

After everything was settled, they decided to set out with the women to take them back to their towns. Bruno, however, refused.

"I…need some time alone. To think." He explained.

Winton knew what was bothering him. "If it's about your purpose here, just know that you will always be our friend." He assured him.

"Are you sure?" Bruno's eyes showed his hope.

"Of course!" Lyra agreed. "You saved every single one of us! We can't thank you enough!"

Bruno smiled. "Thank you." He turned around. "Now, I must get going."

And just like that, he was gone.

Winton and Lyra stared after him. It was a long moment before one of them spoke up.

"Speaking of thanks…" Lyra said. "I want to thank you, for going to such lengths to rescue the women."

"Um…your welcome." Winton said shyly. He realized they were alone, and it made him uncomfortable.

"And…I don't normally let out my feelings like that. Being a princess, I want to make the image of a strong leader, so I try not to show my weakness."

Winton was startled. "It's really not good for you to do that. You'll just stress yourself out, which would make it harder for you to set an image. It's okay to let out your feelings once in a while."

She smiled softly. "I guess you're right, it has been difficult to put up an image. Maybe I'll take your advice." She looked at him. "You aren't like most boys I met, you know that?"

"How so?"

"Very few of them would go to such lengths for a rescue mission." She gave a small laugh. "You really do look like a girl."

He groaned. "Not this again!" But he couldn't help but laugh with her, because it was true.

Then they were silent for another moment, before Winton spoke up.

"Um…I was wondering…" He shyly. "If we could…go out sometime?"

She stared at him. "You, a commoner, would suggest that you court me?" She asked in amazement.

He hung his head. "I know, it's a stupid idea. Just…forget I asked." He said sadly.

"No, no! I'm actually flattered that you confessed like this."

He looked at her hopefully. "So wait…you will go out with me?"

She blushed and smiled. "Of course."

Winton smiled back, and sighed happily. "Let's go tell everyone!"

They had just started walking when Lyra stopped.

"Wait a minute…" She said.

"What is it?" Winton asked curiously.

She blushed and started shaking. "You were ogling me back at that camp!"

Winton held his hands up in defense. "Well, you were so beautiful!"

"I wasn't your girlfriend then!"

"Oh gods and goddesses…"

After that little spat, they told their friends the news. Everyone was happy for them, even Ken nodded his head at the couple. They finished getting ready for the trip, and Cress got onto her Changeling. Winton hesitated, then gripped Lyra's hand.

"Let's move out!" Cress ordered.

And they walked through the valley as the starry night passed.


End file.
